


Demigod Tales.

by Twixster



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-03
Updated: 2019-09-21
Packaged: 2020-10-06 11:01:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 29
Words: 69,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20505890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Twixster/pseuds/Twixster
Summary: Everheart. The name of the immortal, Demigod of War. A timeless name for a legendary hero.Well, Riku really doesn't think so.Riku Everheart, the edgy, moody teenager, has decided to hide herself in the depths of obscurity, among some common folk in an unknown US town. She's done this for years already, so how hard could it be?When one of her old best friends turns everything upside down, Riku has to head back to her original home and take initiative against a rising threat. Although, this time, the threat's more personal than ever. She either has to step up and fight, or die trying.--lmao welcome to my utter trash fest of terrible writing. Based off a universe I made in my head. I've been writing this for about a year now, might as well post it somewhere.





	1. Everheart is a moody teenager, but at least there's a whole lot of Destruction

Today was the day.

Another time in this endless period of changing. Being human sure does limit me.

As the _Everheart_, I was the champion of a God. A _Demigod_, if you will.

I represented War.

War in general. The commanding, fierce and scarring powers of war.

I had many friends who had been Demigods. Nightmares. Destruction. Creation. They represented other gods.

But me? As the Everheart, I represented War.

Today was a… special day. My last day as the lone wolf Fein Diangelo Everheart, and now, into a new body.

Why new? Because I’m human. I’m immortal. But my body cannot sustain being alive for thousands of years that I am.

So my soul is constantly being placed into new vessels. Would that make me a ghost? Who knows. These new vessels have new faces, new names and new personalities. Every 80 years, a new Everheart was created.

I feel different each time. My personality changes me.

How long has it been since I’ve seen the glint of my original form in the mirror? Far, far too long. My… My original name was Wymark. Wymark Everheart.

Behind me, I could hear the wind howl and blow me backwards. A faint, white glow illuminated in the silent forest where I had been waiting.

I took strides towards it. Good. This form was so lonely, after all. I missed having friends.

The light blinded me, making me squint. I had taken my first steps into the multiverse. The home of the 14 Gods, and the gateway to alternate realities that made my brain explode.

I took one step forward, and was met with a tall, glowing red figure. 20 or so feet. Sitting on a throne, opposing me. Between us was a glowing little mannequin. Most likely my new form. The only thing that had a shape was the right arm. The one I had lost a long time ago. It was completely metal, just like my arm. War's head was cackling, like a flame. He radiated with a sense of terror that I had become familiar with. _My power_.

“Champion Everheart.” His voice echoed throughout the gigantic room. I bowed before my god, as my hands started to fizz into nothing but a white flame. I felt fuzzy and unfocused. I stood back up, resting my hands behind my back, standing straight and clear.

“Yes, sir.”

“You’ve done an adequate job as this form, Wymark.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“But… now is the time of change once more. And this new form suits you well… I’ve seen into this future life, and the many ways it could unfold and clash. You are going to face _hardship_. You will be tested, but as a Demigod you must remain vigilant. Is that understood.”

“Of course, my God.”

“Then it is done.” He didn’t even need to snap. My body felt itself returning, and I was shortening down to twink size. I didn’t know why he just started me out as an adult. Sometimes he turned me into a 7th grader and it pissed me off.

My heart felt empty and cold. Unlike Fein, this time I could feel… a resound feeling of anger.

Why?

I clenched my fists as I looked at them. Black, slick right, and stubby, small left. Just as I was.

As soon as the process was complete, a mirror was turned towards me.

My hair seemed to be very… _out of control._ Everything seemed to be going every which way, except for two streaks that curved up. I frowned. For the love of War, do I look stupid.

“It is done, Riku Everheart. You may go.” Riku, huh? Riku… A portal opened up behind me. I couldn’t get through my head what seemed so terrifyingly _off_.

“Thank you, sir.” I bowed before him again before jogging back out. I didn’t want to waste my boss’s time.

“Oh, and one more thing, Everheart…” He spoke behind me. I turned to face him. “Don’t forget _who you are_.”

I gulped, and nodded. Who _I_ am.

Something was off. Something _terrible._ What the hell was it?

_Bullshit._ Riku furrowed her eyebrows. _This is complete bullshit. Why do I have to go here, and do this?_

She slammed her locker door. 7th grade, the start of teen angst and the _worst_ time ever. _Why do I have to do this? Go to school, for what? Just to blend in? Who fucking cares. Homeschool me yourself, you fucking billionaire scientist!_

It had been a bit since she had transitioned, and she was still getting used to being with a bunch of dumb little kids. She hadn’t made any friends. _Why bother with shitty kids? I hate kids. This is so unfair. Why couldn’t I have gotten immortality like Dr. Ghatzbur-_

She was cut off by this odd… chubby little ginger kid, staring at her intently from across the hallway. She didn’t know if he was spacing out, or if he was looking at someone else, so she avoided eye contact.

That was, until the chubby little ginger boy came over to her. His hair was short, but very messy. Freckles covered his cheeks and everywhere. His voice was low, but very welcoming.

“H-Hey!” The squeaky little kid spoke. “You’re the… new kid, right?”

“Umm…” Riku raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, sure.” She spoke in a bored, monotone tone.

“That’s awesome!” The kid smiled brightly. “I’m Thomas, welcome to our school!” He held out a hand.

_This kid’s enthusiasm is so laughable._ Riku hesitantly shook it. Thomas had no clue he was shaking a load of tungsten. “...Riku.”

“Riku, huh? That’s such a unique name!” Instead of letting go of her head, Thomas yanked her forward. Riku nearly cursed. “You’re new, so you should get to know my friends! C’mon!”

Riku didn’t really care about kid drama, but she went along with it regardless. Thomas dragged Riku to the cafeteria, at a lunch table secluded in the corner. One ginger girl with her hair braided waved them over. “Tommy! C’mere, dumbass!” She yelled a bit too brashly. There was another girl there, but she seemed to be wrapped up in the comfort of a good book, earpods in and blanking out from her shouting friend.

As soon as Thomas and Riku sat down, the other ginger handed Thomas a bright gold lunchbox, that seemed to be oozing of a thick, brown liquid.

“Jess, don’t tell me…”

“I made syrup sandwiches for both lunch today! Eat up…” She took a bite of a sticky brown sandwich.

“Gross…” Thomas slid his lunchbox away. “A-Anyways, Jess, this is the new kid I was telling you about! Her name is Riku!” Thomas pointed to Riku, who seemed to be spacing out. “Riku, this is my sister, Jessica! You can call her Jess though…” Jess waved wildly. She wore a nice blue tanktop and jeans. Her hair was tied into a braid, and she wore a red bandana over her head.

“And over there, the girl who isn’t listening, she’s Kaitlyn. She likes to talk occasionally, but she’s mostly just a reader.” Kaitlyn seemed to be wearing a simple black jacket and jeans. Her glasses pointed down towards the book with an ominous eye symbol on the front. She only waved one of her hands that was holding the book.

“Nice…” Riku raised an eyebrow again. “I… I guess I’ll hang out here, what the hell…”

Thomas practically burst with excitement. “REALLY? SWEET! We HAVE to tell you about our group chat, you should TOTALLY join. You’d make great friends with Jess and I’s other friends! What’s your number?”

“High school… I _can’t believe we made it_.” Thomas spoke groggily.

“Well, yeah. We can’t fail middle school even if we tried.” Kaitlyn spoke up through her music.

It had been several years now since the change, and highschool was just beginning. The worst part of being a teen. _High school._ Sure, friends and classes aren’t that bad, but teen drama gets the _worst_ here. I hated it.

I rolled with being Riku and I rolled with this small group of three. Thomas seemed to be super giddy about being here. Jess seemed just as excited.

I tuned them all out as best I could with my earbuds connected to my arm.

The crowds seemed stereotypical. Popular kids, band kids, drama geeks, the one hair-dying group of emos…

My eyes wandered back to the popular kids. Wearing their crop tops and their trendy clothing. It was commendable how much they cared about their image, but they all seemed to be too outgoing for me.

But… my eyes wouldn’t get off this one girl… In her hand, a cup of coffee. She wore stereotypical clothing. A striped hoodie and adidas pants, mixed with red converse. The hoodie seemed to be a bit of a crop top too, showing off a bit of skin right at her stomach. Her skin tone was dark tan. She seemed to be talking intently to a guy before her eyes crossed with mine.

Oh.

_Oh. My. God._

My jaw went slack and my eyes widened. Holy shit. _It’s actually her._

One of my best friends since forever, Elliot Harrison. Demigod of Destruction. She's not human, but she's very close to human. She used to be a servant for this totally bs alien society that tried to colonize Earth a while back, but that's a story for another day.

She was blending herself in with her friends. But that Stargalaxan imprint on her left eye told me everything I needed to know.

She noticed me too, and she politely waved off her friend, and came striding in my direction with the confidence I never thought she’d ever have. It caught me off guard. She smiled almost _devilishly_.

Last time I checked, Elliot was quiet. Terrified. This one seemed to change that quite a bit.

Her hair seemed to be perfectly done. All of it, perfect.

“Well well well…” She smiled brightly. “Look who we have here.”

“E-Elliot? Holy shit, I never expected to see you here!” I laughed. Oh, thank god. This was going to be all the better with her being here.

“Yeah, coincidence, right?” She rubbed the back of her head, laughing. “It’s so good to see you again… err…”

“Riku. The new name’s… Riku.”

“Riku. It’s good to see you again.” She looked at me up and down. “You’re so young. It’s... cute.” _She’s never been this out there._

I rolled my eyes. “Really? _Cute?_ I mean, I’m only 14 in this body, but… I’d prefer small but deadly. And you, Ell… I’ve never seen you so confident. What changed?”

“Just me, I guess. I’ve been thinking a lot about myself, you know?” She chuckled. “Remember back when you were Rue? How _nervous_ I was?”

I remember that well. Elliot was terrified of nearly everything, and it took a lot of time for her to warm up to me.

“Ha, yeah… _X317._” I referred to her as her original name. She frowned.

“You know I hate my original name, Wymark…”

“Yeah, yeah. That’s exactly why I said it though.”

“You said it just to torment me? That’s rude.”

“What can I say? This me is a dick.”

“Honestly, it suits someone like you…” She brought her hand up, comparing our heights. I was easily a few inches below her.

I scowled at her. “Is our height _really_ that big of a deal?”

She laughed again. “To me? Yeah, it really is.”

“Riiku! Ah, there you are!” A voice boomed behind me, startling several other students. I sighed.

Elliot seemed amused. “Oh, so you made more mortal friends, huh?”

“Don’t remind me.” Thomas came running up to me, tackling me from behind. I rolled my eyes.

“Who’s this?” He was staring at Elliot, who politely waved at him. He held out a hand from behind me. “Thomas!”

Elliot kindly shook it. “This is Elliot.” I introduced her. “Her and I are… childhood friends, I guess.”

“Good to meet you, Thomas… So, you’ve made more friends since that one time, huh?” I scowled at her.

“We _don’t talk about that one time_, Ell.”

What’s that _one time?_” Thomas asked from behind me. I pinched the bridge of my nose as Ell silently chuckled to herself.

“This is why we don’t talk about it. Nothing, Thomas. Maybe I’ll tell you someday. Oh, I think you’re sister’s calling you.” I blatantly lied. Thomas took his arms off me and looked behind him.

“Alright, well I’ll let you two catch up.” He waved one more time before running off.

I turned back to Elliot, who had an eyebrow raised. “So, what made you want to try school?” I asked her.

She shrugged. “Honestly… I don’t know. Just thought I’d see what it’s like, I guess. Plus, I technically need a proper education on this sort of thing, you know? I didn’t even know how to count to 1,000.”

“Hm. Alright. And… it’s a _massive coincidence_ we’re at the same school, you know.”

“Yep.”

“And you do know that _I know_ you did something to make that happen, right?”

“Yep. I asked your scientist dad where you were attending and I forged an ID.”

“He is _not_ my dad, Ell. You and I have been over this, he’s just older than me by like, 50 years. We aren’t even related. You’re technically older than him. Does that make you my mom?”

“God, I hope not.” She seemed to imply something by that, but before I could ask, the bell rang from inside the school. Elliot wrapped an arm around my shoulder. “Anyways, school’s starting, Ri… You and I are going to have a blast.”

“How many classes do we have together?”

“All of them. Don’t worry, I made sure of it. Now, let’s get to our history class, shall we~?”


	2. Riku is an emotional mess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elliot wants to meet Riku after school.

Elliot had something to tell me today.

I had no clue what it was. The anticipation was eating me up inside. What could she possibly want from me?

Right after our Mythology Classes, Elliot told me to meet in our Health teacher’s room, and to come alone. Made me a bit skeptical, but it was Elliot. What could possibly go wrong?

It had been two years since Elliot and I had started going to school together. We were Juniors currently.

Elliot was your average popular girl. Outgoing, and good-looking. She was voted Homecoming Queen last year, and she’s looking to be Prom Queen this year despite only being a Junior. She’s the Captain of our Varsity Volleyball team, which I didn’t even know existed.

Sometimes, I feel as if she’s too perfect. But it doesn’t bother me.

Me? I’m your average student. Too boring to bully, too shy to be popular. The only big friend I have is Elliot.

The teacher was lecturing about our homework. Finish our essay on 23rd Demigod of Nightmares, Jekyll. Ugh.

That dude is a total pushover. He’s always insisting on making my life terrible.

Jess sat beside me, intently typing away at her paper. She _loved_ this stuff. Especially… well, _me._

No mortals knew about that shit being real. They had no right to. Jess saw me as Riku Bows, not Riku Everheart. I don’t think she’d be ready for something like that.

Soon enough the bell rang, and Jess walked with me out.

“Actually, uh… I have to go meet up with someone for an afterschool project. I’ll catch you on the flipside.” I waved off Jess, who only nodded in understanding and walked alone through the hallway.

Everyone else crowded to get out of the school, but I just stood at the side of the hallway. I felt extremely anxious, for some odd reason.

I walked against the crowds of people, down a flight of stairs and a long hallway towards the end of the school, where the Health class was. Elliot was leaning against a locker, arms crossed. She smiled as soon as she saw me, and then she slipped away into the classroom, away from me.

I gulped. _Why am I nervous?_

Everyone at this point had left, and since Elliot was good friends with the Health Teacher, she just so happened to get that room free.

I opened the classroom door, seeing Elliot sitting on a desk across the room.

A sinking feeling settling in my stomach.

The room was dimly lit with orange uplighting, and a fall-scented pumpkin candle filled the air with an Autumn feeling. Ellie smiled brightly at me. She almost radiated in the dim lit classroom.

She seemed to be wearing a jean jacket-white hoodie combo and ripped light jeans. Her hair wasn’t back today.

I set my bag down beside a desk close to her, and I sat on the desk. “So… none of your friends noticed you gone?”

“No. They’re going out to my other friend’s house for the weekend. I told them I had a project I was forced to stay for, and they left me alone. But… um…” She gulped, looking down at the floor. I could sense her fear. Odd. 2416 Elliot was almost _never_ nervous.

“...Yeah?”

She closed her eyes, and took a deep breath in and out, calming her nerves. She looked me in the eyes with the most sincere smile she could muster. “I was just… wondering, if maybe, I don’t know… we could grab a coffee sometime? I-It doesn’t have to be coffee, we could always just grab lunch or dinner, if you want to go more fancy…”

My eyebrow raised. “You could’ve just… texted me about hanging out again, Ell.”

She shook her head, profusely. I didn’t know how, but her face seemed to be getting shades darker. “No no no! That’s not what I meant… Listen, Riku… you know me, right?”

“U-Uhh… Yeah…” What was she saying? I didn’t understand it.

“And… well, you _know_ I’m not too good with human traditions. Like… honestly, I had no clue how this was going to go. Seeing those romance movies and trying to do them in real life is so hard…” She scratched the back of her head.

Wait.

_Wait._

I suddenly scooted a foot back on my desk. No.

No way.

“E-Ell… Are you implying what I think you’re implying?”

She laughed awkwardly again. “Yeah, I guess I am! I mean, it’s pretty obvious, isn’t it? After all this time, I’ve finally found the courage to just… up and say it. I mean, laws and society’s view on the topic are pretty progressive nowadays… so… you know…”

I slowly slid off the desk. What… I-I don’t…

“I don’t… understand…” I felt confused. Lost.

What am I supposed to do with this?

My friend, out of the blue, confessing to me… I wasn’t ready. Not after him.

I couldn’t meet her eyes. She slid off her desk, moving towards me.

“Riku…? Are you okay?”

“When.” I suddenly spoke. “When did this start.”

Elliot stopped moving towards me, putting her index finger to her chin in thought. She didn’t understand the severity of the situation. “Well… I mean, it’s hard to tell. I think it’s been since the war back when you were Rue…”

I nearly whimpered. _That long?_ “I…” I was really at a loss for words. What. “N-Never… I never even perceived…”

Elliot simply laughed again. “Riku… I’ve been flirting with you for like, the past three years. You really haven’t picked up on that? That one time where we were hiking and I kept making really corny camping pickup lines. Seriously?”

“I thought you were _joking_, Elliot! I-I…” My mind flashed back to that one time we went camping, just the two of us for fun. I’m so confused. _What?_

She does shitty jokes on a regular basis, how was I supposed to pick up on her stupid campfire pickup lines?!

_”Are you a campfire? ‘Cause you’re hot and I want s’more.”_

_”Baby, you can toast my marshmallows anytime.”_

_”A flashlight isn’t the only thing I’ll be turning on tonight.”_

_Ugh…_

She giggled. “God, Everheart… this version of you is so clueless… So… is that a yes, or a no?”

I took a step back from her.

“I-I don’t… _I don’t know…_” I felt _terrified._ Like a piece of me had just been stripped away. I had never, _ever_thought about that. I didn’t even know if I was… I never _even considered…_

My breathing started getting faster. What’s happening? Is this real?

“Riku? What…” Elliot’s voice wavered. “What do you mean by ‘I don’t know’?”

“I… I need some time to think. Just… Just give me a moment, please. Just… get away from me.”

“What? Are you… You’re _serious?_”

“No. I don’t know.”

“Everheart, now you’re confusing me.”

“GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME! I DON’T KNOW, AND THAT’S FINAL! JUST GET YOU AND YOUR FUCKING DISGUSTING SHIT AWAY FROM ME!” I shoved her away in a burst of emotions that came out of nowhere. What is _wrong with me?_ I immediately felt guilt. I felt disgusting. “I-I… listen, Ellie, this is really sudden, I-I just need some time to think…” Did I even like…? Were these feelings all mutual or were they…? I… _I don’t know…_

The look on Elliot’s face was shock. Like I had just slapped her, or said something terrible. Almost disgust. “Oh, so you’re _that kind_ of person now, are you?”

“Wh-What..? Ell, I just need some time to really think this through-”

“All these years… _Thousands of years, wasted because of... this_...” Her voice cracked, and she sniffled. I felt my heart tear in two.

“N-No, Ellie, don’t think that way! I’m not... “ The floor started to rumble.

Flames rose above the classroom.

My heart was racing. What is going on? I-I just said I needed time!

Elliot and I stumbled back. I looked over to her. The floor started to crack and break open. I ran towards her.

God, all these years, and I never even thought… Elliot looked so _hurt_. I don’t understand…

The room was falling apart. I could hear the distant start of an alarm. She was causing this. I-I thought I told her. _Didn’t I tell her?_

Elliot looked up at me as I pulled her back up. “C’mon… this place is unstable, we need to _go_-”

“Thousands of years, Everheart!” She shouted at me. I could hear faint explosions behind me. “Thousands. You’re telling me all of my life was _nothing?_”

“Elliot, _please_, we need to go before we both destroy the school-”

“Everheart, I idolized you for all these years, I thought that… that you were better than this!”

“_Ell-_”

“Riku… I… _you were my best friend._”

She didn’t get up from the ground as I tried pulling her back up. We have to go. We have to go before anything else bad happens, I need to think, she needs to get up…

I yanked on her arm as hard as I could. My heart was racing. I was so lost. I yanked as hard as I could, _I swear_...

“Riku… _Please…_” Elliot suddenly got up from her spot on the floor. “There has to be something, I-I… I…”

“Ell, create a portal or something and give me space to think, _plea-_”

Instead of opening a portal, Elliot grabbed me by the shoulders forcefully.

And… and _she kissed me._

In this burning, broken room, she _kissed me_.

Among the ashes, the smoke and the alarm ringing, pounding in my head… the only thing that was clear was the way she was _desperate_. For this. Her lips on mine felt soft. Comforting.

But _terrifying._

My mind was racing. I couldn’t think straight. A thousand emotions suddenly flashed through me. Disgust. Fear. Anger. Happiness. Giddiness.

I wasn’t thinking.

I wasn’t… thinking.

As I pushed her away.

And she fell into the void.

Time slowed. The heartbroken, mortified look on her face as she went into freefall into a bottomless chasm. Her scream was all I could hear.

I tried reaching out and grabbing her. No. _No. PLEASE, War, NO._

I just sat and watched. As she fell.

She fell to her death.

And I watched.

A bright flash overcame me. My head was pounding.

I was in my bedroom.

Something was choking me. A bright, red, tattered cloth. It constricted around my neck. I tore it off, but held it close.

“Elliot… Elliot, _where did you go…_”

She died. She died and I watched it.

No. No, I-I didn’t just… I didn’t. _No._

For the first time in around 400 years, I cried. I bawled my eyes out, I screamed at the top of my lungs.

Elliot was dead. She was turned down after 5,000 years of disappointment. Then she was shoved to her death.

I killed her.

My heart sunk. I felt like hyperventilating.

What did _I_ _do_?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, conflict
> 
> Nothing like yeeting your closest friend off a cliff, am i right


	3. Part 1 of 3: Accepting your (friend's) death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaitlyn walks to school and is met by a troubled Riku.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright folks, this is where younger me started writing it, so buckle up for some plot points that are irrelevant, and get ready for some short-ass chapters.

I walked to school with earbuds in my ears. I studied the faces of the dim-headed people I went to school with. All of them looked tired. I couldn’t blame them, it was 6 AM. No one wanted to be awake at 6 AM.

Nevertheless, here we were. People were walking with their friends or riding their bikes. I tuned everything out with music.

Until a somewhat _disturbing_ presence zipped right past me with a blow of warm air. I thought I saw some form of a… _fiery lazer_ zipping past me and right towards school. I looked at the ground to find blackening skid marks.

I stopped for a moment. Did no one else see that, just now? Was it just me? Was the world finally becoming a fantasy novel? Or was I just losing my sanity?

I decided to pass it off and continue my commute. I’ve seen some odd things in the past before.

I walked into the commons, a large area used to accommodate the students attending our school. People were shouting and just being generally annoying. I snuck off to my left, into a random hallway to be left alone.

Except… I wasn’t alone. Riku was there, looking extremely irritated and nervous. She adorned a blue shirt and jeans, along with a very worn down and torn red scarf. She snapped to attention as soon as she noticed me, and walked forward.

“Kaitlyn, thank fuck. Tommy and Jess aren’t here yet, a-and I needed to ask this.” She gulped. Riku looked very disturbed. Something must’ve happened last night. Perhaps she witnessed a terrifying event happen before her eyes.

Yet something about the way she looked seemed much bigger than what I thought. There were bags under her eyes. She seemed to be almost shaking. Riku grabbed my shoulders and looked me dead in the eyes.

“Wh-What is it, Riku?” I asked.

“D-Do you know where Elliot is? Elliot Harrison?” Her voice was desperate.

Elliot Harrison… I tried to grasp something on any Elliot I knew. Nothing came to mind.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know who Elliot is.” Her look dropped, almost like she was shot in the chest with a gun. I could feel her grip on my shoulders tighten to an alarming degree. Was I supposed to know who she was? The name didn’t quite ring a bell.

“Y-You gotta be joking, right? Elliot Harrison? Captain of the Varsity Volleyball team? Voted Prom Queen in our sophmore year?” I thought of our prom two years prior. I didn’t attend, but rumors had spread.

“Don’t you mean Elyssa Gallegos? She’s the volleyball team captain, Riku. I-I don’t think Elliot Harrison goes here.”

“You’re kidding. Please, _please_ be kidding.” It looked like me lying to her was the dire solution to her problem. She looked just about ready to have a breakdown.

“O-Of course I’m… _kidding_, Riku. I do, in fact, know an Elliot.” She looked hopeful for only a split second, before hopelessly crumbling.

“You’re a terrible liar.” She murmured. “I… I need to go. I’ll catch up with you later.” Before I could say anything, she stormed off. I was left alone again, in the hallway.

What could’ve happened between Riku Bows and Elliot Harrison?

What did Elliot do?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what did i say? it's not good
> 
> welcome to hell
> 
> fun fact again: Riku uses her middle name as a last name with mortals


	4. Everheart has hawk vision

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riku just isn't feeling up to school, but she's totally feeling up to killing some kidnappers

I decided to leave as soon as Kaitlyn tried to lie to me. She’s gone. She’s really gone. I killed Elliot. I killed her.

School didn’t matter to me. Not at all.

No one remembered Elliot. It was like we hit a loop. Now she was gone, and all I had left of her was her old red cloak. I felt like a part of me just died. I didn’t know what to do. So I left.

Thomas passed by me as I walked back home. He put a hand on my shoulder.

“Forget something’?” He asked me. I grabbed his hand and moved it off my shoulder.

“No. Just… Just go.” I whispered.

“B...But-” I shot him a look, and he nodded. “Oh...Okay. I’ll catch you later.” He ran off.

I looked back at the sidewalk. I can’t… understand. What happened? Why is she gone? Did I kill her because of my own feelings?

I can’t believe myself. What? I can’t like Ellie because of some… stupid societal norms? I’m so fucking shallow. Now she might be dead. Because I can’t handle my feelings.

I sighed. I didn’t want to walk home, so I put my hand in my mouth and whistled. Within seconds, I saw my own dragon flying through the air, towards me.

In my own culture, dragons are a very sacred animal used for a lot of different tasks, from transportation to combat. The relationship between my homeland and dragons has been strong for thousands of years. My dragon is immortal, a fire dragon. He’s one of the best in the land. I named him Rocko. Why? Because.

Not as good as _hers_ though.

But I guess her dragon doesn’t exist.

Rocko landed besides me. I put my hand on his forehead.

“Thanks. I just… I need a ride home.” I hopped on his back as he took off into the air. Normally it feels good to shoot fifty feet up into the air with my dragon. But as we soared through the neighborhood, I could feel guilt building up in my chest. It hurt.

I looked off into one of the streets. People were making their commute to whatever boring and pointless office job they hate. Other students were walking to school, yellow buses speckled in the streets.

I looked down directly below me. There were some men in some form of… blue uniforms? It was hard to tell at this angle. All I knew was that they had rifles.

“What are assholes like them doing up at a time like this?” I asked Rocko. He grumbled. “Move down there.” We dropped down the men.

My suspicions were indeed, correct. They were wearing blue uniforms. A weird eye symbol was their badge. One of the leaders had buzz cut hair and scars running across their face. One of the other soldiers looked like two face. Their face was cut into a weird, green skin tone. The other was a woman, who had short-cut hair and a scowl. They seemed to be handling a… man, with duct-tape over his face… They seemed to flinch as they saw the dragon, but they only cursed it away. I guess they didn’t see me.

...Which also concluded my suspicions on them not being mortal. Fan-fucking-tastic.

I hopped off Rocko’s back and moved towards the men, summoning a small hunting knife. They seemed to be hostile.

“Hey! What are you three doing?” They looked at me and the leader sneered.

“None of your business, punk! Scram!” He yelled. I rolled my eyes.

“I’ll do whatever the fuck I want, asswipe.” I summoned a flame in my palm, then shot it in their direction. The guys leapt out of the way and grabbed their weapons.

“Fuck, it’s an elemental, Captain!” The girl shouted. Captain Buzzcut was loading something into his pistol.

“Request backup, now! I can handle her.” He raised his pistol to my head.

_BANG!_

The bullet harmlessly bounced off of Rocko’s tail, which had swept in front of me. Dragons. Bulletproof. He moved his tail, and I ran forward.

I stomped my foot into the ground and twisted it. A fire burst right in front of the uniformed guys, making them jump.

“This is group 59A6, Requesting backup immediately! I repeat, requesting backup-” I used another power of mine to force their communication device into my hands. I crushed it under my hand.

“What do you sorry little shits think you’re doing?” I snapped my fingers, feeling the air shift around me. The leader’s eyes suddenly got very wide as he dropped his gun to the floor.

“Y-You!” He shrieked, grabbing his own walkie-talkie out. “This is Captain 59A6, tell General R that we found the Everhear-” His stupid little sentence was cut out, as I chucked a knife into his head. Captain Buzzcut collapsed. His other lackeys shouted incoherent, terrified noises as I moved to the person being kidnapped. I ripped the duct tape off of his mouth as he screamed.

“Hey! It’s fine! We need to move!” I looked at his handcuffs.

_Vengestone? As in the rare mineral, vengestone?_ It was a shade of black, very rough and uncomfortable to touch. I tried to cut it off.

He screamed again. I looked him in the eyes and shushed him.

“Dude, shut your damn mouth and move!” He was looking behind me. What was he looking at? I turned.

“Oh.”

There was a shuttle, flying right in our direction. It looked like something out of a Marvel movie, the way it looked. The ship had blasted a vengestone net around Rocko. He was straining underneath it. I ran over to him.

“Rocko! Godammit, I’ll get you out, hold on!” I summoned another knife and began to cut the binds.

The shuttle landed behind me. I turned.

I left the hostage!

I tried to scramble back and grab the guy, but it was too late. The soldiers had already loaded themselves and the guy onto their ship. They looked back at me in fear, but the were still glowering.

“We need to tell the General that we found the Everheart!” The other soldier yelled. In a panic, I ran over to them. I can’t let them escape! I can’t let this happen again!

The shuttle’s door was closing as it began to take off. Rocko was still groaning under the nets.

I summoned a column of fire underneath my feet to blast me up. The explosion rocketed me into the air. I reached my hand out. It was right there! I could make it…

My momentum lost itself as I began to plummet. I looked down at the ground. I let them get away!

My own anger fueled itself, another wall of flame securing my fall safely to the ground. I was trembling. I let them get away, I _fucking let them get away!_

I broke the net off of Rocko.

“I-I… THOSE BASTARDS!”

I remember the body of the captain I had left. He was lying down, face first in a pool of his own blood, right by the side of the road. I rushed over to him, then clocked him in the jaw. More blood pumped out of his forehead.

Who is this? Why did they kidnap the guy? And why did they give a shit about who I was?

I held him up and examined him. The badge was still on his chest. A single ominous silver eye shone in the light. I snatched his jacket off of him. I needed to find out what this eye meant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oooooh, who's general r? spoooky
> 
> riku's powers will be explained... shortly? I mean, it's mostly war based so you get the gist


	5. Discussing cults with your billionaire stepdad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riku decides to chat with one of her smartest, closest friends about the mysterious group that kidnapped people.

Riku slammed the door to her home, then immediately ran down to her basement, where _her room_ was.

Every Demigod had their own personalized room, where they could go. It was like a portal to a new dimension. They could summon the portal whenever they needed it.

Riku kept her portal in her basement, locked behind a padded door.

She grabbed her keys from her pocket, and unlocked the door, walking inside.

The room was simple, with white lighting on the walls, in a somewhat _futuristic_ pattern. On the right side was a desk cluttered with papers and junk, along with a computer. The left side held several bean bag chairs and common necessities, with a tap water dispenser built into the wall beside the chairs.

On the opposite side of the door was a closet, which held several armors and things suited for combat. There was also a small teleportation device, which could fast-track Riku to her homeland, the _Ancient Lands._ It hasn’t been working in ages, due to the Council of Elemental Masters shutting off themselves to their society.

Lined around the walls next to the door were a cabinet of supplies for her right hand, which was a prosthetic. A gigantic charger for her arm was sitting on top of the cabinet. She clicked her right hand off of her wrist and connected it to its charger. She sat down at her desk and huffed.

“Computer,” Riku spoke. Her computer whirred to life. “Facetime Dr. G for me.”

_”Facetiming Doctor Ghatzbur…”_ The computer spoke in it’s robotic voice.

Doctor Ghatzbur was one of The Everheart’s best friends, a scientist who revolutionized the Ancient Lands. He created The Everheart’s prosthetic, robotic hand.

Within a few seconds, Dr. G had filled the screen, working away in his cluttered laboratory. His light grey beard and hair was ruffled and messy. His gaze stayed glued to a machine he was carefully putting together.

“Everheart. It’s good to speak with you once more. Who is it now?” He asked.

“Riku.”

“It’s great to meet you now, Riku. Tell me, how is the newest prototype for the prosthetic coming along? I’m looking into selling my older design, and I want you to stay ahead.”

“It’s… It’s fine, Doc. Let’s cut the crap. I killed this guy who was kidnapping people, and he had a strange badge.” He squinted up at the camera as Riku showed off the badge.

“I can’t… I can’t quite see it. Can you describe it to me?”

“Well… it’s silver, with this single eye embroidered into it.”

“I see… I remember there being a sale on cyclops eyes, maybe they’re based around that?”

“I seriously don’t think they’d base their cult on cyclops sales, Doc.”

“True. Perhaps… can you send it down to me? I may be able to do a bit of extended research if I have the item firsthand.”

“There is no way in _hell_ that I am traveling to your lab, in the core of the Earth. No fucking way.” Doctor Ghatzbur’s laboratory was directed within the center of the Earth, where he could get an indefinite supply of the core’s energy.

“Oh, I know. Here…” Riku saw a capsule pop up on her desk. “That can send it down to the core. I can look it over from there, and send it back to you when I’m finished.”

“How many things do I not know about in this room?”

“Possibly hundreds of features.”

_”Hundreds?”_

“Yes yes, just send it down. We haven’t got all day now, have we?”

“True.” Riku popped the badge into the capsule, and sent it down to Dr. G.

“I’ll get back to you when I can. For now, you look should probably take a nap. You look exhausted.”

“I’m fine, Doc. There was actually one more thing I needed to talk about. It’s really urgent.”

“Very well. What is it?” Riku looked down at the red cloth around her neck.

“There was this girl… Elliot Harrison, the Demigod of Destruction. Where did she go? She’s gone, and no one seems to tell me where she went. I just want to make sure she’s okay.” Dr. Ghatzbur stopped what he was doing and looked at Riku.

“I’ve never heard of a Demigod of Destruction. Did someone do something to you, Riku? If so, you need to be examined immediately. I have a way for you to get down here as well, so-”

“No. Fucking _no,_ Ghatzbur.”

“...Did I do something wrong, Everheart? It just feels as if someone implanted something into your brain.”

“Are you… Are you fucking with me?”

“...No…”

“Oh! Oh, I see. I fucking see, Doc. Get that badge looked over for me, will you?” She quickly clicked out of the call. Riku put her head in her hands and sighed.

“I’m so sorry, Ellie.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay okay okay, here me out
> 
> Every Demigod has that room. The pocket room where they can just sit and relax. However, they can't open portals midair to stop themselves from falling. They have to be out of a deadly situation and relaxed enough for it to work. The Pocket Dimension is a thing that'll be explained a whole lot later.
> 
> Also here me out:
> 
> Dr Ghatzbur totally isn't a name of a very specific void scientist i swear to you guys hahahaha totally
> 
> Dr. Ghatzbur became immortal due to a specific Demigod he encountered. He used to be a vessel for Jekyll, a ghost-like demigod of Nightmares
> 
> Dr. G led the industrialization of the Ancient Lands, an island where no mortal has stepped foot on. He's an inventor and a scientist, who's helped and supported the ancient lands for years.
> 
> Dr. G resides in the center of the Earth, where he uses the extreme power of the Earth's molten core as a power source for his inventions, also having a large supply of Vengestone Obsidian, an extremely rare mineral.
> 
> He's the CEO of the Ghatzbur Innovation Corporation, a very popular tech company for people who live in the Ancient Lands. He works alone with thousands of little manufacturing bots.


	6. Rue and the terrified alien

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riku can't stop thinking about her friend.

I couldn’t sleep. I could still hear her voice in my head. That scream was the last thing I remember from her.

You guys don’t think I’m insane, do you? No one else believes me. I didn’t mean to kill her, I swear!

I’m talking to myself, damnit.

I shifted my eyes to my bedside table. There was her cloak.

Elliot… wasn’t human. She came from this other race in another galaxy system, thousands of years ago. They were invading Earth, and I just so happened to get caught up with her.

I was a commander, fighting in the war to protect Earth. The Demigod of Peace was my general. We were fighting against General Sooh-kah, the Demigod who cut off my hand. He was the original Demigod of Strength, before Ellie and I blasted him into what we _thought_ was the sun.

I was a different person. Rue Everheart. Way better than who I am now.

I gripped the ripped apart piece of cloth that was Ellie’s.

Thousands of years ago… She saved my life.

Ha. Nice way to pay her off, you piece of shit.

* * *

_5,327 years ago_

Commander Everheart and her squadron marched over the snowy hill of her home. It was the middle of winter in the coldest area of the island. To Rue’s right, was the wintery forest. To the left, a cliff that would certainly kill anyone who fell down it.

On the other side of the hill, was the opposing enemy.

Rue raised her sword over her head, as her squadron charged over the hill and towards the enemy. Cannons were pointed in Rue’s direction, ready to fire.

Rue made her way through other soldiers, hacking and slashing away, making a pathway to the opposing commander. A trail of fire burned in her wake. Enemy soldiers were thrown off into the cliff, where they fell to their deaths. The enemy commanding officer stood atop a hill, with canons lined behind him. He looked very alien-like, his face grey and wrinkled. He looked to Rue with disgust, backing away and barking orders to his soldiers.

Another alien with a red cloak covering their face grabbed the commander’s arm and tried to drag him away. He sneered at the person, then spoke in tongues Rue wasn’t familiar with. The cloaked person shakily said something, but the commander shoved them to the ground and turned back to Rue, who was ten feet closer than what she was before. Her sword was raised at the commander’s head. She swung as the enemy dodged, parrying back at Rue’s stomach. She set her sword on fire, making the commander yelp and move backwards.

“You pest!” He shouted in a heavily accented voice. “You’re all just animals!”

“This is our home, not yours!” Rue forced the peasant to her, putting the sword around their throat. The cloaked person strained against their grip.

“Not another step, or this one dies!” She shouted. He scoffed.

“Does it look like I care about a peasant? Go ahead, slit her throat. There’s beings just like her, better even!” He seemed to be commanding something behind Rue and the servant. The commander smiled. “How about instead of killing her, why don’t we just kill you both?” Someone grabbed Rue and the servant, chucking them into the air. Rue didn’t know what was happening until she was falling down the cliff. The enemy must’ve surrounded them while Rue was occupied.

She silently cursed herself in her head. She looked down at the floor, coming closer and closer. Somewhere along the line, Rue lost her grip on the servant.

_So you were a Demigod for around 300 years. How sad. Sorry, War. I failed you…_

Suddenly someone, mid-air, tackled Rue’s waist, pushing her into what she felt was a doorway. Next thing she knew, she was tumbling besides the ground. She had survived with only small scratches and bruises.

“Wh-What… What the-”

Rue looked upwards. There was a large, rippling purple portal, shining in the snowy blizzard of the winter. The wind was howling. Rue had to keep a sturdy grip on the ground in order to not get sucked into the vortex.

The portal dissipated. Rue stood back up, dusting herself off. She looked around.

“What in the name of War was that?” She asked herself. _Is this civilization more evolved than I thought…?_ She looked over to the side of the cliff. Dead bodies of the people she threw off the cliff were splattered like roadkill, dead. Rue knew that she couldn’t summon a portal herself.

So how did a _servant_ summon something like that?

Rue looked over to the side. There was the person who somehow, summoned the vortex, saving them both. They were on the floor. Their red cloak was off their face, now looking more like a cape.

Rue rushed over to the person. As she walked over, she could see that the person had some distinctively _human_features. They looked like a girl, with their darker hair being tied up into a bun. Her skin was a darker tone.

“H-Hey!” Rue spoke up. The girl yelped, whipping around to see Rue. She started backing away from her, eyes wide with fear. “Woah woah woah, hold on a moment. I’m not going to hurt you. You saved my life.” Rue held her hands up, being cautious around the girl.

The _Stargalaxan_ Society was known to kidnap humans for labor. Was she one of those people?

No no, she wouldn’t be. If she was, they’d both be dead. And the girl wouldn’t be so scared of Rue. Plus, the marking on her cheek indicated that she wasn't human.

“How’d you create that portal?” Rue asked. The girl gulped, looking down.

“I d-don’t know. I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to...” She stuttered, her voice barely able to grasp onto the language.

“Hey, it’s okay. You saved us both.” She crouched down beside her. “Who are you?”

“I-I’m… X317. S-Stargalaxan.” Rue remembered that the lower-class aliens didn’t have names. They were just numbers and letters.

“It’s nice to meet you, X. Can I call you that?”

“S-Sure.”

“Alright, X.” Rue sat up. “We have to get back up there. Can you summon a portal?”

“N-No-I mean-I don’t know… D-Don’t you want to get away from the fighting? After what happened?” Rue shook her head.

“I can’t. I need to get to my squadro-” Distant cannons went off, with several screams. Some guy shouted _”RETREAT!”_ along with some aliens cheering. She sighed.

“I guess not.” She looked upwards, towards the giant cliff. “I seriously doubt that we can get up there, unless you can summon one of those portals again.” She looked down to X, who shook her head.

“Makes sense. We have one of our main camps around 50 miles that direction, but it’ll take a bit to move through this weather. I may have fire abilities, but I can’t control them in extreme colds like this. We’ll need to get moving. Are you ready, X?”

Rue held out her hand to X. She hesitantly took it, standing up beside Rue.

“Y-Yes,” She spoke. “I’m ready.”

* * *

Riku remembered how the two of them had to survive through one of the worst snowstorms in history. It took them a month just to get back to their camp.

There was also that other time, hundreds of years later, where they found eachother again. The two got their dragons together.

Everheart saw her again in the cowboy ages of the West. They ran a business together in the early 1900s.

And now, they were in highschool together.

Well, not anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stargalaxans are a society of intelligent, powerful aliens. They've managed to colonize their entire solar system, using their star as a fuel source.
> 
> As alien species, they have distinct powers that make them automatically more powerful than humans. They can use telekinesis, they can float, more gravity controlling powers.
> 
> The aliens range from completely unhuman to 'could pass as human'. The more human you are, the more resources you take up and the less your lifespan is. An unhuman Stargalaxan can be completely immortal, and never need to drink or eat. The more unhuman you are, the higher up you're regarded as a leader of your society.
> 
> 3 Demigods of the 14 are Stargalaxan.
> 
> the Demigod of Strength is their General. He is completely unhuman. Maybe he'll show eventually.
> 
> anyways sorry to explain the basic plot lmao


	7. Riku's got some beef with her history teacher

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riku's mythology teacher is a bit biased.

_”Who are you?”_

_”Ripley. Ripley Allerton. My acquaintances call me Rhys. I’m terribly sorry to be trespassing here, ma’am.”_

_”That’s okay. I’m sure it’s for a good reason, after all. People are dropping like flies out there, aren’t they? Come, sit a while. You’ll be safe here.”_

_”Ah, thank you miss. My family will be quite worried for me though. Could I possibly get your name so they know who I’m with when this is all over?”_

_”Holly. Holly Everheart.”_

_”Everheart? Isn’t that from that silly old fairytail?”_

_“Perhaps it is.”_

* * *

Riku clambered out of bed. It was a school day again. Did Riku want to go? No. Did she have to? Yes. She needed to come back after the entire unexcused absence yesterday. Thomas blew up her phone/hand, practically begging her to come to school the next day. It was 6:30. Riku had woken up half an hour late.

Riku walked down to the basement to retrieve her hand. She clicked it back into her wrist, then left the room. Dr. Ghatzbur still hadn’t gotten back to her on the whole “badge” situation.

She looked out the window. The air was still and foggy. She could barely see out her backyard. That meant she’d have to walk, because Rocko wouldn’t see her.

“Stupid weather.”

That just meant she was in an even bigger crunch for time. She slipped on a hoodie, with the red scarf and the same jeans, running out the door without food.

She focused all of her energy on running, using a boost of her own power to go even faster. A trail of fire was left in her wake as she rushed to school.

She got to school just as the bell rang, right into class. Her Algebra 2 teacher gave her a look as she dove into class. Some of the other kids snickered.

_I’ll show you what for, I swear…_

For the rest of class, Riku tried sleeping. She had woken up multiple times last night, and she felt absolutely exhausted. The teacher rambled on about something she could care less about.

School zipped by, mostly because Riku was asleep or daydreaming through most of it. Why would a Demigod need to care about grades? It didn’t matter.

Thomas stopped by to see her during lunch. Riku was sitting alone, hoodie over her head, trying to sleep. Thomas tapped her foot.

“Psst,” He whispered. “Hey Riku! How’s things going?” Riku didn’t respond. Thomas showed off a lopsided smile. “Riiiku… Earth to Riku!”

“What do you want, Thomas?” Riku responded, a little too strong for Thomas’ liking.

“U-Um… I just wanted to make sure you’re okay!”

“I’m fine. Let me sleep.”

“Oh-kay… Let me know if you need something, okay?”

“Kay.” Thomas headed off to be with one of his other friend groups. Riku sighed. Something felt off about today. She was much more tired than she was. Something was wrong, but Riku just couldn’t put her finger on it.

Lunch breezed by too.

Soon enough, Riku got to her mythology class. She looked over to the teacher, only to find a substitute. _Strange…_ She thought. _Mr. Auger would normally tell us when he has a sub…_ She did a double take over the guy. He looked… unsettling. Just his mannerisms set off alarms in Riku’s head. He was hunched over, his clothing ragged and dirty. He looked around the room, then to Riku. He didn’t stop staring at her. Riku awkwardly shuffled to her seat, summoning a small knife. She didn’t trust the guy.

The bell rang. Riku kept her eyes on the teacher.

“Okay, class! I’m Mr. Abram, your substitute. Your teacher got sick, and he called me in to replace him for the day. Today’s lesson will be about Dr. Jekyll and The Everheart. -3854 AL. Does anyone know what that date is?” Kids raised their hands. “Riku!” The teacher called out, “Do you know what happened in that year? Mind explaining it to us?” Riku gulped.

“It’s the year that The Everheart became a Demigod of War, after defeating Jekyll, the Demigod of Nightmares.”

“Ah, yes… The Everheart… despite popular folklore, the Everheart was the one that hurt Jekyll. Today’s lesson, class, is the things that go overlooked. This is the things that the Everheart so selfishly did wrong.” Riku felt a pit in her stomach. _Was this guy just going to harass me the whole hour?_

“Uhm, if I can interject, the Everheart didn’t hurt anyon-”

“Are you sure? Let’s see... -1347 AL, where the Everheart was a wealthy and selfish woman. She kept a man by the name of Rhys in, secretly killing his family! Go to page 201 of your textbooks.” People started to grab the textbooks that their teacher kept in his room.

_How in the hell did he... This is all in the past, and it's not even true! A-And it was 1347, not AL. This was back in Europe, he’s just teaching us regular history!_ Riku grabbed the textbook, flipping it open to page 201.

She stared, dumbfounded, at the page. There was a well-done illustration of a family, faces all purple and dead. Riku gulped. She looked back up at the teacher, standing up.

“Th-This isn’t true! I know it isn’t true, what kind of a textbook has-”

“Who is teaching here, me or you? Sit down and shut up!” The class fell silent, scared of the teacher’s sudden outburst. Jessie raised her hand.

“M-Mr. Auger told us that The Everheart was portrayed of a person more balanced on the light side of things… He normally isn’t wrong…”

“Well, this was the _lesson_ he had prepared! He's wrong anyways. The Everheart has always been a negative Demigod.” Mr. Abram looked down at his watch. “Let’s get on with this...”

Riku was basically shamed the entire hour without anyone even knowing it.

_I… I never did like, half of this stuff. It’s just… exaggerated! Why is he bringing all of this up?_

“-The Everheart, on page 212.” Riku, out of curiosity, flipped to that page. Her stomach did a 180 flip.

Four people. The Everheart was on the left, and… and the other three…

Riku stood up angrily.

“Okay, this is bullshit! That never even happened, this isn’t even the right textbook!”

“How do you know, _Riku?_” He asked accusingly. Riku faltered. Her cover couldn’t be blown.

“My… My parents taught me all this stuff! I even took this class last year out of boredom, damnit!”

“I don’t like your tone. Sit down, now.”

“NO! ONLY UNTIL YOU STOP SPEWING BULLSHIT!”

“Go to the principal’s office before I drag you down there myself!”

“Make me, asshole!” Jessie looked up at Riku in fear. The teacher ran at her. Riku backed up. What if the guy was just wrong? She couldn’t pull out a knife until she knew he was an enemy.

He grabbed Riku’s arm. “Let’s go.” He yanked Riku out of the room.

As soon as they were out of earshot, the teacher whispered in her ear, “Acting out _yet again_, Everheart? How pitiful of you.” Riku quickly moved away.

“What did you just say to me?” She growled.

“Did I stutter? Everheart, you’ve gotten off your game lately. It’s me, Morrison!”

“M-Morrison… The… The 1920s worker?” She gulped. “M-Morris, you know I didn’t mean to shove you into the machine-”

“O-ho, _really now?_ You didn’t mean to forcefully push me into a dangerous and lethal machine? Wow, that’s low, isn’t it? Luckily, someone took me in and nursed me back to health, unlike _you_ and your stupid company! You left me to die, like everyone else!”

“I-I didn’t… Get away from me!” She let off another wave of fear, and the teacher scampered off back to his class. Riku clenched her fist.

_”Morrison? Who’s that?”_

_”Ruby, he’s the worker who got shoved into the machine yesterday while you were doing a routine inspection.”_

_”Ah, he’s fine. We’ve got enough bills to pay for anyways, in this shithouse of a building.”_

_”We’re not covering his medical bills?”_

_”’Course not.”_

_He’s with those guys that attacked me the other day, isn’t he? He shouldn’t be trusted around those kids._ Riku gripped the hunting knife in her hands, going back to the class. She was going to stay and wait until after class to deal with Morrison.

Soon enough, the bell rung, and Riku sprang to their feet. The students gave Riku nervous glances as they walked out the door.

She walked into the room…

“Where did he… Wait. No, hold on…” She ran over to one of the windows, finding it open, with a note. Did none of the other students see him leave? Did he just leave? How did he get out so quickly? Questions raced through Riku’s head.

She looked outside, trying to see where Morrison went. He was nowhere to be found. Riku felt uneasy.

_Should I have let him get away like that? It feels wrong to… But no one got hurt, so no harm, no foul, I guess. I just hope I don’t see his face again anytime soon._

As Riku turned to leave, she glanced at the board. She had to do a double take to see what was written.

In large, red pen, was the _Eye_ symbol. Underneath was written, _WE’LL BE COMING FOR YOU._ Signed by _R_.

Morrison wasn’t… R. And holy shit, the message was ominous.

Riku rushed home on Rocko, looking around her every second to make sure no one else was watching her.

She set to securing her house, locking every door and window. She decided to sleep in her own _pocket dimension_room until she knew she was safe. She locked the heavy-duty door behind her and laid down on her makeshift bed.

She was already on edge with the whole stalker issue.

Her prosthetic hand buzzed. It was a text notification from Thomas.

T: _RIKU_

R: _what_

T: _im scared_

R: _what? Whats wrong?_

T: _jessie never came home and mom is really freaking out_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DUN DUN DUN
> 
> uh oh
> 
> lmao


	8. Death in Chicago

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amber, an old Everheart, decides to have some fun with her 3 best friends.

“Auuuustin!” Amber yelled. Austin looked at Amber confusedly.

“What’s wrong, Am?”

“It’s a real nice day out today, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, it really is. We’re meeting Matt and JJ at the skydeck in an hour, don’t forget that!”

“Of course.”

Amber and Austin were just getting up. It was 10 AM.

They had been living together for around 3 years, surviving through some tough times together. As Austin and his friends knew, Amber was _The Everheart_, a Demigod of War.

Just last Summer, Amber had learned that Sooh-kah, the guy who cut off her hand, was alive as the Demigod of Plague. She _also_ learned that Austin and Matthias were elemental masters of poison and wind. They were like the benders in Avatar.

JJ was the newest Demigod of Creation.

A lot had happened.

Don Austin Riverra was a very loud and rebellious little Spaniard. His pitch black hair was cut into a high fade, and he was terribly lazy with the way he dressed.

Matthias Boyd was another loud, but more observational guy, who was a total nerd. His professional hairstyle was always perfect, just like him. A perfectionist.

And Jacquelyn Jackson... she was always timid, but still fun to be around. She opened up a lot more with the 3 of them then ever before. Her hair was a dark shade of brown, and she always let it be messy and bouncy.

Now here they were, ready to head up to Chicago’s Skydeck, a nice place to catch up on things.

Amber looked over to Austin and laughed.

“Your hair’s a mess.”

“So’s yours! Don’t blame me.”

Amber laughed as she hopped out of bed to get ready.

Austin and Amber had been living together for around 3 years now, with Austin proposing over a year back. The wedding was in 3 months.

With all of the small stresses of trying to plan the entire thing, the two decided to have some time out with friends to ease their minds a bit.

Austin ran downstairs to go and make a quick breakfast for the two of them. He grabbed a couple of eggs from out of the fridge and set to frying them.

After Amber hastily threw on her usual jacket and jeans, she opened the little portal to her room. She quickly yanked her prosthetic hand off its charger and positioned it onto her right arm stub. Austin came up to Amber with a plate of eggs.

“That was quick.” Amber stated.

“Thanks.”

Austin just ran his hands through his hair a few times before heading out with Amber.

“Are we taking Rocko again?” He asked. Amber nodded.

“If we’re heading into the city, then there’s no way in _hell_ we’re taking the car. It’d take us an hour just to find parking.”

“That’s… That’s true. But are you sure you wanna take Rocko? I could call my own dragon and we could-” Amber whistled, and within seconds, Austin heard Rocko roaring in the distance. He smiled. “Impressive.”

“Thank you, my good sir.” Rocko landed in the driveway. Amber nudged her dragon with her foot, and down came a small step-stool, leading right up to the saddle. Austin chuckled.

Amber called her dragon’s saddle _”The Hot Seat,”_ because the actual skin of her dragon was searing hot. The specially designed saddle was for people who weren’t immune to burns like Amber was. Austin climbed aboard _The Hot Seat_ as Amber sat right in front of him. Rocko took off within seconds, gaining altitude quickly.

The two looked down at the large city of Chicago in amazement. The two never went down to the city themselves because of work and such, but whenever they could, they still sat in awe of what mortals could accomplish. Amber’s dragon settled down atop a building, allowing for the two to get off.

“Hey, there they are.” Amber pointed up into the sky, where Matt and JJ were riding on top of Matt’s wind dragon. The dragon landed with a _WOOOSH~!_ and the two hopped off. Amber greeted them with a grin.

“Heyyyy, long time no see!” She gave JJ a hug. “How’s that art job working out for you?” JJ smiled.

“Really good, actually. I’ve been getting lots of people drawn to some of my work too, which is nice.”

“Awesome. Could you make a simple thing for us? I could work out the details at dinner.”

“Sure, I don’t see why not.”

The four worked their way off the building and into the bustling city streets. Their destination was a couple blocks away.

The four shared small talk about recent stuff that happened to them, along with some work stuff and just general conversation.

As they made their way into the elevator up to the _Skydeck_, Austin took Amber’s hand and smiled down at her.

“I love you,” He spoke. Amber chuckled.

“Love you too, ya goof.”

The elevator stopped at the last floor, and the group made their way to the deck. They all took pictures of each other, standing on the glass that hung over 100 stories above the ground. Sometimes, it was just nice to tour around.

The three were just about to leave to go out to lunch, but something caught Amber’s eye.

A stranger, staring out at the glass flooring right beneath him. He looked familiar. Amber stopped for a moment. Austin paused.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Ah… nothing. I’ll be right there. Just need to go to the bathroom is all.”

“Okay. I’ll see you in a bit.”

“Kay.”

After Austin and her friends had left, the room came to a weird buzzing chatter.

She walked towards the guy, tapping him on his shoulder.

“Hey. Do I know you from somewhere?” The guy, surprised, looked to Amber. He smiled tiredly.

“Ah, hello again Everheart... It’s me, Ennes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ennes! Demigod of Health!
> 
> Flashback to Amber Everheart, a very basic bitch. This is the Everheart from around 400 years back from our current edgel


	9. God is stupid (but not in THAT way)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riku decides to call up one of her most powerful friends for help.

“So, it’s a Demigod? A Demigod I had _no clue_ about?”

“Seems to be the deal, yes. I looked over some of the recent artifacts some of my scavenger probes picked up from a recent search of an ancient galaxy.”

“The old abandoned war galaxy?” I think I remembered the name, but not quite… Maybe later.

“Yes, that one. There were many imprints of the eye left there. On rubble, pieces of metal…”

“So… do you know who the Demigod is?”

“Not quite. There were several scripts talking about this Demigod, but they were in some language that wasn’t anywhere in my database.” He paused for a minute. “You have direct contact with Ink, don’t you?” I sighed.

Ink was the God of Creation. The guy who created us. His personality… was _hard_ to work with. Let’s just say he was a little ADHD.

Then again, the Ink I had contact with was one of the billion other copies Ink has.

“Yeah… Yeah, I do. I’ll try to get something out of him.”

“Good. If anyone knows anything, it’s him.”

“True…” I heard a distant explosion on the other side of the call. Dr. G yelped.

“Agh! I need to go, Everheart. I’ll talk to you later!” The call disconnected.

I looked up at my computer. The button was right there. _Call Ink_. Ugh…

Ink could seriously tick me off sometimes. But… he’s our creator. I have to give him a little more respect.

Even if he can’t form a single sentence…

“Computer,” I called. “Call Ink.”

_”Calling Ink…”_

…

Ink’s messy face came into view. He seemed to be creating something. He hummed a weird, somehow autotuned song as he waved his hand around, creating an entire beautiful landscape within seconds. He shook his head, erasing all of the life within a second.

“Ink!” I yelled. “Earth to Ink!” He looked down at me, then to something behind the screen. He giggled, moving his pointer finger. I looked to my back wall.

It was covered in black paint. God fucking dammit.

“Hey! Put it back!” He laughed as all the paint washed away.

“Hey um… _um…_”

“Riku.”

“Riku! Oh, the Everheart Riku or the Harrison Riku?”

“What?”

“You’re the Everheart Riku! Okay okay, wait, where’s War? He’s your god. Oh, war! C’mere war!”

“Ink, I wanted to talk to _you_.”

“You did? About what? I think space is pretty cool! There’s lots of pretty stars and space junk, and so many people travel through it every day-”

“I wanted to talk about This Eye symbol.” I showed him the badge. He examined it.

“There’s lots of people with eyes! Like you have eyes. I can make myself some eyes, see?” He shifted and suddenly, 50 eyes popped up on his face. I flinched. Gross. “O-Oh, there’s also a sale on cyclops eyes right now-”

“There’s a _Demigod_, Ink. A demigod who is associated with eyes as their symbol.”

“Hmmmm… Well, a lot of people use eyes as a symbol. I bet Wisdom would would know a lot about this!”

“Who?”

“Wisdom, silly! Goddess Wisdom?”

“I...I don’t know who that is.”

“She’s really smart and really quiet, I think you’d like her… I think. I should go and say hi! I haven’t in over ten thousand years!”

_”Ten thousand?”_

“Well, yeah. She doesn’t like to be bothered much. Anyways, see ya!”

“W-Wait! Wait. Maybe we could _both_ go and see her?”

“Both go and see who?”

…

...This god is a dolt.

”_Wisdom_, Ink. Wisdom.” His eyes lit up.

“Oh my god, right! Wisdom!” I put my head in my hands and sighed. “Do you wanna come and see Wisdom with me?”

“YES!” I yelled. “YES, I DO!”

“Then why didn’t you just ask?” I felt the chair under me catch fire.

“Because _I already did, Ink._”

“Oh. Ohhhh… Sorry! Anyways, yeah! Here you go!” He snapped his fingers, and a swirling portal rippled into view. I stepped inside, feeling myself falling for a few seconds.

Walking through portals has this weird feel to it. Your soul splits from your body for a second. It feels like you’re free falling at 80 miles an hour.

I made my way into the multiverse, the gateway between every universe. I came out of a white door, to a white hallway. Across from me was a door labeled _2._ To my left, was an endless hallway of doors. To my right, was the god’s rooms. The white strained my eyes. I’ve begged Ink, for _years_, to change the aesthetic of the multiverse. He always forgets, and I hate it.

A portal opened right next to me, and Creation stepped out, looking behind him. He looked over to me, blinking.

“Who are you?”

I grabbed his wrist. “Riku. Wisdom. Let’s go.”

“Ohhhh right!” We started moving towards the rooms. Ink went ahead and showed me Wisdom’s door.

“Here it is! Wisdom’s room!” The door… The door was _massive_. It looked around 40 feet tall. The door was decorated with delicate and intricate designs, going all the way to the top. Ink pushed the door open.

And if the door was intricate… ookay. Where do I start?

The right wall had like this… map. This map, of galaxies, and then it went… so in depth, with the planets and everything in it. It was like everything was record, right on a TV screen. I could see someone’s space ship cruising through a galaxy. People going into lightspeed, space junk, everything…

She was sitting on a tall throne on the left side. She had like, 6 arms. All of them were doing something productive. And if the _multiverse_ hurt my eyes… She was like a _star_. Her head was literally pouring with knowledge of shit I had no idea about. Her eyes moved crazily around. She was moving at an inhumane speed. Her presence felt intimidating, almost scary.

“Wiiiiiisdom!” Ink shouted. The goddess of Wisdom didn’t take her eyes off of her screen.

_”I believe I told you to stop bothering me, Creation.”_ Her mouth didn’t move.

“Well, you know… I just wanted to check up on you! And Riku wanted to come and see you too!” I gulped. It was like a thousand eyes were on me now.

_”Riku Everheart, AKA Tailk Everheart, Number 7 to War’s side, Universe 1A, copy 2034-B. Human, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy.”_

”U-Um… Yeah… J-Just Riku’ll work, m-ma’am.”

_”What do you need, Riku? As you can see, I am very busy.”_

“Well… M-My friend, a Doctor… He picked up some signs of an eye… And connected it back to you.” Wisdom stopped moving for a split second. Her eyes shifted to me, then back. She hesitated.

_”The eye is a sign of vast knowledge.”_

“I… I see. There was… well, my friend keeps saying that it’s connected to a Demigod.”

_”I once kept a Demigod myself, until I realized that her potential was too great. She upset the balance between Wisdom and Strength.”_ So… it hurt the balance of brains and brawn?

_You could say that, yes._ I physically jumped. What… What was that?

_I don’t want to strain myself. I took my Demigod out of the universe. I scattered the remains of her across the universes, so that Wisdom is still there._ You can do that? Gods can _do that?_

_Yes. Don’t ask too many questions. Gods are the creators of the ground you walk on._ That’s… That’s true...

“So she’s trying to come back then, isn’t she?”

_”Certainly. If she were in the multiverse… I’d just put her back in her place. But I’m afraid Gods cannot interfere directly with the universe they create.”_ Even with Wisdom not moving her head, I could feel her glaring accusingly at Ink. _”She’s tempted… a friend, of yours. She’s fed him words of encouragement to free her. I’m afraid we’ve only caught on at the last minute. If she awakens, all of her pieces will be formed together, creating a monster that will be stronger than any of us.”_

I… Something tells me I won’t be able to fight her then, huh?

_”No. I don’t think even the Gods will be able to stop her then.”_ I swallowed. So this meant life or death then… I… I’m not so sure I’m ready to take this head on.

_”You’ll have to, Everheart. With X317, my Demigod could be contained in fractions. Now that she’s… stuck, Wisdom can do whatever she wants. I believe you may have changed fate.”_

Okay, now I was _really_ feeling pressured. There was a gaze upon me that felt accusing. And I didn’t like it. Ellie was able to contain Wisdom. But now that I… and that she was erased… it had to have changed things in the past. Good fucking job.

“I… I _never_ meant to do that to her. I just wish I could’ve done something different. I-I don’t even know what went wrong, I-”

_”No, stop. I’m not the emotional one here. I’m the logical one. I’m going to be straight with you. You did something wrong. Very wrong. Now you must pay for your actions, or it will catch up with you.”_

“B-But-”

_“Don’t give me excuses. I know your personality. You’re one to forget on purpose. I’m not going to lightly go over what you did. Ennes and Ripley are both people that you left in the deep.”_

I… Please. Please stop, they were all accidents. All of them.

_”And you need to face them. It will hurt you, Riku. It will hurt. It will catch up to you if you don’t face up to it. Ennes, Ripley and X317. Don’t forget.”_

“Facing them right now won’t stop Wisdom from destroying us all. They’re in… They’re in the past.”

_”We’ll see about that.”_

Something about the way she said it just… made my hair stand up. Like it meant something more.

Why would it matter? It won’t hurt me now. They’re all dead anyways.

Elliot wasn’t dead though.

She was far from dead.


	10. Riku gets smacked down by the special ops team

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riku decides to protect Thomas.

“W-What do we do?” Thomas clung on to my shirt, tears staining his cheeks. I sighed.

“We’ll find her. It’s going to be fine.”

“IT’S NOT FINE! MY SISTER IS GONE!”

_Now you know how I feel._

“Shh, don’t worry the other students, Thomas!”

“I-I’m so scared, Riku… What happened to her? Where’d she go?”

“I wish I could answer that right now, but for now we just have to keep this in police hands.”

“I… I don’t know. Mom has been talking with the police all day.”

To be honest, this whole _kidnapping_ thing, with Abram coming back had me on edge as well. If they knew where Jessie was, they were bound to find out where I lived eventually. Why are they doing this? Why did Abram come back? And why did they target Jessie?

As soon as I went home, I boarded up every door and window in my house. I called Dr. G and told him I needed extra security precautions in my room. Now my pocket dimension is covered in hidden weapons and barbed wire. It was like an advanced home alone movie.

Thomas looked to me for help. He was scared. The story was in the news last night.

“You’ll need to stay with me tonight.”

“What?”

“You’re staying the night at my house.”

“W-Why?”

“I’ll tell you why later.”

I had a feeling that Thomas wasn’t mortal. Neither was Jessie. Why would they target Jessie first if she was mortal? I was going to tell him about everything, tonight. Him being safe will at least ensure me a small victory.

When you’re mortal… You can’t see magic. It’s a barrier of light. Mortals can’t see through that light, while people like me can. Have you seen that Percy Jackson book? It’s basically like the mist. A dragon in air looks like a plane. When it’s on the ground, it looks like a car. My powers look like I have a flamethrower or a really powerful lighter.

The entire world has that boundary of light they can’t see through. Life is normal for them. There’s only one island where all of the people living there can see through the light.

You started seeing through the barrier as a non-mortal around 16. Thomas and Jessie both turned 16 a month ago.

So… he must’ve been targeted for that reason. Same with Jessie.

As soon as school ended, I found Thomas and started dragging him out of the school.

“Let’s move, we have to get home quickly!” I began running. Thomas followed behind.

“Wh-Why?”

“We can’t let anyone see us! Now go!” He was confused, but he followed me regardless.

Rocko wasn’t anywhere near me. I couldn’t feel his presence. Thomas was scared of the people who took his sister.

I started running, using the force behind the fire to boost myself. Thomas felt my hand getting uncomfortably hot, and he mumbled awkwardly.

“R-Riku, why’s your hand so hot-”

“Look at my hand!” He looked down at my hand, finding that it was replaced by metal. He yelped in surprise.

“R-Riku! What happened to it!?”

“It’s been there the _entire_ time you’ve known me!”

“No it hasn’t! What-”

“We _don’t have time to explain!_” I shouted. “Move faster, dammit!”

“B-But Riku!” He stopped in his tracks, wobbling a bit from the sudden stop. He yanked his hand back. “What is this? Why are your feet on fire, why are we running, wh-what happened to your hand?!”

“Thomas, _please_-”

I didn’t notice the trucks until it was too late. It was the Wisdom Cult again, heading straight for us. They drove up and blocked off both ends of the street, and then soldiers started pouring out of them, shooting at me and Thomas.

I threw him behind a car and sent a wave of fire at one group, yelling “COME FUCKING GET SOME!” They kept shooting, and I felt a bullet graze my bicep. I quickly ducked behind the car and sent some more flames their way, but the bullets kept coming. “OH, YOU CAN DO BETTER THAN THAT, YOU SCAREDY-ASS COCKSUCKERS!” I screamed, then stood to launch fire into the group advancing behind me. It knocked a few of them down, getting me and Thomas time to run inside the house. I could hear helicopters overhead, seeing soldiers throw out a rope from one of them and slide down it like a fireman’s pole. We rushed inside and slammed the door, but bullets punched through it like it was barely there. “Crawl!” I yelled at him.

“Wh-Riku, there’s-oh god. Oh god. I’m gonna die!”

“Not if you stop fucking whining and CRAWL, Thomas! Crawl to the kitchen!” He shut up and did it, and I followed right behind him, bullets snapping and cracking past my head, throwing up white clouds of dust from the ceiling. The dust was also being blown through the vents. Some of it reached my eyes, and I started to cry and cough. _You idiot, it’s not dust, it’s tear gas!_ I started to yell out to Thomas, but just ended up sucking down a lungful of the stuff. I heard the sound of explosions going off and windows breaking, and I realized the shooting from outside had stopped.

I staggered over to Thomas, and almost collided with one of the soldiers, wearing a gas mask to protect himself from the tear gas. I was about to send a bolt of fire at him when he stabbed his rifle forward like a spear and I fell to the ground, clutching my chest in pain. I looked to my right and saw Thomas on the ground, hand raised to shade his eyes from a bright light being shined in his face.

He started to scream, and one of the soldiers shot him with a taser, then cuffed him with Vengestone handcuffs as he quivered on the floor. I started to get up, then stopped when I realized there was a soldier with a gun in my face and there was nothing I could do that wouldn’t get me immediately shot. I just lay there, my rib cage hurting, my eyes, mouth and nose feeling like someone set them on fire, looking at the cultist.

Another soldier joined the one pointing his gun at me. He had a taser in his hands. I had just enough time to turn towards him before something hit me in the chest and everything went black.

...ugh… My head, fucking christ…

Where was I? I opened my eyes. I was on the floor, in the kitchen. Everything looked disastrous, like a tornado just went through the place. My chest ached. I took a deep breath in, only to find that it hurt, bad. I started to get up, slowly.

They took Thomas. Those pieces of _shit_ kidnapped him.

And I just let it happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: This was written by a friend of mine a long time ago!


	11. Nothing like wearing your dead friend's body

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now the police are involved.

_”There have been reports of multiple kidnappings and terrorist activity in Clefton, Mississippi. Police have been notified of the area. If you see any suspicious activity today, immediately report it to the authorities.”_ I sighed. This meant it would be hard to even make it out of the house. _”Last night, people reported this person as a lead to the activity.”_ The news flipped to a picture of _me,_ protecting Thomas with what the news saw as a flamethrower. I looked like I was posing for a mugshot.

“Great.” I mumbled. “This is just… great.” I clicked off the TV. Now the rest of the US thought that Clefton was being attacked by terrorists. And I was a prime suspect. Why weren’t any of the other guys suspects?

That’s when I went back to the picture, seeing that those cultists were police. They somehow used the magic barrier to disguise themselves.

“You assholes…” Now it looked like I was attacking the police with a giant flamethrower. No wonder people have been so scared of me.

But _multiple_ kidnappings? How many people did this army snatch?

Dr. G called me on the prosthetic. I picked up the call.

_”How’d you get police involved this time, Riku?”_

“Okay, it wasn’t even my fault! Those guys who have the Eye symbol, they’ve been kidnapping people!”

_”I know, I know…”_

“And now police are going to be on my doorstep at any second!”

_”I… may know what to do. I’ve added a new feature to this prosthetic upgrade.”_

“Another one?”

_”...yes. I just need to be present in order for the upgrade to work. I’ve finally found a way to use the magic barrier effectively. It’s a form of camouflage.”_

“Camo? What’s going to happen, am I just going to turn into a bush or something?”

_”Not exactly. Think about someone. Anyone. And switch the little knob on your palm.”_

”Which one?” I checked my hand, pressing a little button on the side. A control panel flipped upwards on my palm.

My hand had many useful features. It was a computer, a phone, and a toaster at the same time. I really had no idea how Dr. Ghatzbur could even fit all of it in such a small space.

_”Bottom right corner.”_ I looked over the small switch in the corner, and flipped it on. A green light blinked, and the control panel flipped again, leaving a smooth surface once more.

I thought of some people. _Wait, wait, don’t-!_

_”Okay, you should be good now. Good disguise! I don’t think I’ve ever seen that person before.”_

I rushed to the bathroom, and looked herself in the mirror. _Oh god…_

“I-I… Can we change it? _Please?_”

_“I’m afraid not, Everheart. Sorry. I haven’t quite gotten the hang of camouflage yet.”_ I shakily sighed. I accidentally thought of _her_. And here she was. It was haunting to see her again. It was like looking at a dead body.

“F-Fine. I’ll work with it. I need to get out of here.”

_”That’s a good idea, Everheart. Go do that.”_

“Could you keep an eye out for any of those guys? They know where I live.”

_”I’ll try and get into the town’s security cameras.”_

“Okay.”

After looking at the corpse in my mirror, I checked outside.

They came for me yesterday. They’ll be coming back today. I had to get out of my house, and quick. Thomas and Jessie were already gone. God damnit, I wasn’t going to let a few dimwit assholes kidnap me. Not today, and not ever.

School was shut down, and everyone was trying to get the fuck out of Clefton. And since the police saw me as a prime suspect for terrorism, there’s probably some big bad army men waiting to bust open my door too. Luckily, Dr. G gave me an easy way out with this… _disguise_...

Okay, so I’m looking like the person I murdered, and also on the run from the US government. Yippee.

That wasn’t the worst issue happening either. I snuck out the backdoor of my house, trying to avoid any public attention. I pulled my hood over my head. A few people looked at me suspiciously, but since I wasn’t myself, they didn’t really bat an eye.

The town was becoming barren, with the exception of a few policemen and other law enforcement patrolling the areas.

Some of the policemen eyed me down. Ugh. I hope that this all goes clean in a few days or else I won’t be able to go home.

As I walked out of the neighborhood, Dr. Ghatzbur called me.

“What?”

_“There doesn’t seem to be anything of hazard ahead. I don’t see any of the Wisdom Kidnappers either, Everheart. You’re in the clear.”_

“Sure I am.” God, I even sounded like her. “They could be anywhere. Keep your eyes peeled.”

_“Yes ma’am.”_ I rolled my eyes as I hung up the call.

I kept looking around for anyone suspicious. There didn’t seem to be anyone. That’s when I noticed it. The lack of people in this town. Where’d they go? It only seemed to be me walking.

_Oh-kay… We know how many people they took. Which was all of them. It’s fine. Do you really think you’re gonna die? Stop being a pussy, this isn’t even that bad._ I thought to myself.

I saw one other person in the distance, walking up the trail to the cliffside overlooking the town.

_”K-Kaitlyn.”_ What was she doing? Did she not-what?

I started moving towards her. She was the only person left in this town. I had to help her before those people got to her.

Thomas and Kaitlyn could be as good as dead. I had no clue. But if I could save her, at least I’d know that I did something right.

I bolted off the main road, towards the trail. She was already almost up. C’mon, you can make it…

Wait? Why am I running? I’ve got a dragon for a reason!

I stopped dead in my tracks and whistled. And there he was, coming up against the horizon, over the seas. He soared through the air and to me with ease.

“Rocko, it’s me! C-Can you get me up there?” Rocko grunted and I jumped on. I had to get to her. I couldn’t let her get hurt.

Rocko flapped his wings, and we lifted upwards. He let me off on the cliffside. I looked back to my dragon.

“Keep close. There’s people that are gonna try and hurt us. Look out for them.” Rocko growled and flew off above me, circling the area I was around.

Kaitlyn was sitting down by one of the pine trees. I ran towards her, she tensed up at me, terrified.

“R-Riku?! What are you doing here?” She exclaimed. How did she see through… It didn’t matter, since the disguise quickly wore off as she backed away.

“Kaitlyn, you gotta listen to me! We have to get out of here, there’s these people that are gonna kill us-”

“What did you do to Thomas?” She asked.

“Nothing! I was trying to protect him, and god knows where he is! Th-The point is that we need to go, now-”

“I-I don’t trust you! What’s going on?! What did you _do?_”

“WE DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THIS-”

_BOOM!_ The forest behind us rumbled and quaked. Kaitlyn jumped and moved towards the cliff.

“What was that?!” Kaitlyn questioned me.

“Fuck… they’re here.”

“_Wh-Who?_” I forcefully grabbed Kaitlyn by the arm.

“We need to go, _now_!” She tried to pull away from me. I could hear the distant sound of trees barreling down. Gunshots echoed behind us. I moved us towards the edge of the cliff, where Rocko would pick us up and fly away.

Where was Rocko?

I looked up.

Oh.

Oh shit.

Airships. Hundreds. Rocko was blasting fire at them, but he was being shot at. He toppled down a smaller ship, and I watched it crash down to the ground and explode. Kaitlyn looked like she wanted to scream. I couldn’t blame her. There were thousands of people coming for me.

Those ships were closing in. I whistled, calling Rocko back down to me. Kaitlyn started to hyperventilate. There were people marching up this hill to where we were. Smoke arose in the background. I knew I was going to get through the smoke, but Kaitlyn definitely wouldn’t.

I looked her straight in the eyes. She couldn’t meet mine.

“Calm the fuck down! We’re gonna get through this, now get to the cliff! Rocko’ll protect you.” I shoved her toward the cliff. Rocko was hovering right over the edge. Those people were getting closer. I had to provide a distraction.

I shot a fireball up towards one of the ships, letting it fall to the ground like a balloon. I summoned a machete and cut down a tree in the direction of the oncoming attackers.

Suddenly, I got a call. From Dr. Ghatzbur.

I picked it up. “WHAT?” I yelled.

_“O-Okay, this isn’t the most *ideal_ situation currently, b-but I can help out!”* Open the panel on your hand!” I fidgeted with my right hand, pressing the small button that opened the command panel. _“Alright, now 4th row, 2nd button!”_ I looked around. There it was. I pressed that button and my hand started to glow a bright blue.

“U-Uhm…”

_“Lift it! Lift it towards the trees!”_ He ordered. With both arms supporting, I lifted my hand. It was starting to glow brighter. My hand started to shake. “O-Okay! _FIRE!_”

The growing energy breaking my hand released itself in a cannonball of rocket fuel towards the cliffside, shoving me back and onto the ground painfully. My arm felt like it was blown off. My ears rang, and that was the only sound I could hear. My head was spinning. The trees were on fire. I forced myself upwards. I still needed to get out of here. They were going to be at my throat in seconds.

I got myself standing. The trees were crashing to the ground. I could faintly hear them marching.

Bullets whizzed past my head. I ducked. My right hand wasn’t moving. It died while using that rocket.

I crawled over to a nearby standing tree, putting my legs to the trunk. I set my feet on fire and kicked downwards, as hard as I could. It toppled over some of the guys shooting. I stood back up and ran to the cliffside.

A single bullet grazed the side of my arm. The wound stung immediately. I had to get out. Where did Kaitlyn go? Rocko was above me, scorching the airships. They were right over my head. Soldiers were mere yards away. I shot a desperate ball of fire in their direction. They kept shooting.

I couldn’t whistle. Rocko kept fighting. I summoned another knife and whirled it towards someone’s head. The airships were getting closer to the ground. Where was Kaitlyn?

I saw a few of the men. I recognized some of them. I tried to let off another wave of fear to scare them off. A few stumbled backwards. I stomped my feet weakly, and a wall of fire burst in front of the attackers. The people closest to me had their faces seared off. I kept repeating that cycle. Scare them off, them scorch them. Their departure was slowed but I was quickly losing my focus. What was in the bullet that hit me?

One airship landed. Were people firing? What’s happening? I summoned one last fireball towards the ship. It clearly missed, hitting a group of people behind it.

Am I giving up?

I cursed at myself. I couldn’t give up this easily. Where did all my strength go? What happened to being a Demigod?

No one was firing anymore. Rocko was out of sight. I backed myself up to the edge of the cliff. Guns were trained right at my head. I couldn’t move, I was panting heavily and trying to take on all of these people would get me killed. I focused on the person getting out of the airship.

“Well well well,” They spoke. “What do we have here?” The guy came closer to me. He was skinny and sparked a toothy grin. His hair was a spiked black, with grey streaks running up it. His eyes looked hungry. A shiny gold badge with an eye flashed on his winter jacket. There was a backpack full of weapons slung over his shoulder. He walked over to me with pride and desired hatred.

I recognized him. It was R. My stomach dropped.

“Rh-Rhys…” I grunted. He only chuckled.

“Hello dear. Did you miss me?”

“Fuck off…”

“Ahaha, you’re adorable like that. Aren’t you? Just as adorable as when you left me with a dead family.”

“Th-That wasn’t my fault-” He shushed me, putting a finger over my mouth. I wanted to bite it off.

“No excuses, Everheart. I don’t want to hear more excuses.” I glared up at him. “Do you like what I’ve created? An army! Something to fight. You’re a Demigod of War, after all. You must love killing people. And all these people here would love to kill you.”

“You disgust me.”

“Ditto.” He looked at an imaginary watch on his wrist. “Oh dear. Would you look at the time? We have to get moving immediately. Cuff her, would you? I’d like her alive.” The two soldiers besides him moved towards me with Obsidian Cuffs.

No way. Not today. Rhys isn’t going to win that easily…

I stepped back and off the cliff. The guards tried to grab me, but they failed.

Rocko swept me off my feet. The impact made me dizzy again. Rhys looked back at me in curiosity. I hated it.

“R-Rocko…” I coughed. “Take us to the Islands.” I couldn’t stay conscious. My vision tunneled, and eventually, I succumbed to the darkness and passed out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, setting change
> 
> we're going to the islands now bitches


	12. Everheart talks to the man she yeeted into space

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After losing the battle against Rhys, Riku has a pep talk with one of her enemies.

My eyes fluttered open. My head ached. My whole body ached. I was hot and sweaty. Was I getting sick?

I sat up, trying to catch myself up on where I was. Rocko was sailing through the air. We were surrounded by a vast ocean.

Rhys almost got me. He got Kaitlyn, and now… I don’t think I can do this alone.

I fucked up. Bad.

_Keen observation._

Uh-huh. A-Anyways… I shoved my hoodie off my body, letting myself be exposed to the cold air. Holy shit… I felt like I aged 50 years over the collective 24 hours. All of my joints refused to move, especially my arm.

I had to get my arm on a charger. I disconnected it from my body to let my wrist get some air. My left arm was cut pretty badly. Nothing a bit of bandaging can’t fix. There were some bruises lining my entire body, ranging from small to large.

The sun was setting. I must’ve slept for a good amount of time.

That reminds me. That portal to my room… I need to close it and reopen it somewhere safe before the cocksucker Rhys gets to it.

In my mind, I pictured my basement. The locked door and the portal behind it… I moved my hand, feeling a wisp of hot air hit it. That signals me that the portal was closed. If the bastard made his way into my room, then he’d be able to get to me quickly. Sure, I’d kill him right away, but still. Safety precautions.

We had to land soon. Rocko must’ve been getting tired, because sometimes his wings would dip and we’d fall for a few seconds. I patted him on the neck.

“Land anytime you need.” He only grumbled in understanding.

Soon enough, we found ourselves landing on a nearby island, with no inhabitants. It was remote, with only a few palm trees, enough as to not be spotted by anyone. The sun had set, and the air was cold and sharp. I used my power to try and reheat my body, raising my body temperature to a warmer, but steadier 90 degrees.

My legs were a bit wobbly, but I could move. My arm was already bandaged up well, so I was able to use it to its full extent. My robotic arm was left with Rocko. Keeping it on my arm while dead was a bad idea. I know I wasn’t fit to be moving around, but I had to.

I summoned a machete and chopped down some of the nearby trees to use for firewood. Rocko used his tail to move all of the wood into a pile.

My stomach roared. I needed some food to eat. There was no way in hell that I was going into the water to swim. The water was far too cold to even try. I looked around. There didn’t seem to be anything.

Do I risk freezing my ass off for food?

Ah, whatever.

“Rocko, get that fire going.” Rocko snorted and blew on the fire. His breath was hot enough to start some sparks. I rolled my pants up and summoned some easy-to-throw swords. As I stepped into the water, my body screamed for me to go back. My feet were in a cold shock. I couldn’t stop now. There were plenty of fish in the water.

…

I shivered as I took a bite into the fish. My back was against Rocko as he heated me back up. The fire crackled in front of me. My headache hadn’t yet cleared, but at least I could think clearly.

What was I _doing?_ God, I must’ve looked like a wandering dolt earlier. I’ve won wars and fought against enemies that were ten times worse than Rhys and his army of lackeys. He doesn’t scare me. He never will. He only gets his strength from Wisdom. I could crack his tiny little body over my knee.

The sun had set, and mosquitos swarmed me and Rocko. Whenever they came close, I just lit my whole body on fire and the bugs would burn.

I was planning on going to the Council tomorrow. Wish me luck. Those guys are fragile idiots who don’t have a clue what they’re doing. It almost feels like the army runs the country at times. They treat every person who’s a threat to them like royalty. They’re cowards. I hate them all.

I needed to conserve my energy. It was a 3 hour flight to the Islands from here. I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

…

……

“Everheart…”

“Everheart, wake up…”

“...”

“_For star’s sake,_ wake up you buffoon!” Something hit my head, and I shot awake.

“What…” I grumbled. The sky was still dark. Rocko was gone, and all that was here was the silhouette of a slim figure… I looked at the person above me.

“There we are,” They spoke in a rasped, sorta british voice. “I was beginning to think you died.” I jumped up and launched myself at the guy. He hovered right above me, out of my reach. That piece of shit! “Rowdy there, aren’t we?” He laughed his stupid pompous laugh and sighed. “Don’t worry. I’m not here to kill you. Quite the contrary, actually.”

“History doesn’t lie, Sooh-kah. You’ve tried to kill me multiple times, why is _now_ so different?”

Sooh-kah. Demigod of Plague. He was the same race as… He’s Stargalaxan. He’s the first instance of a Demigod switching from Strength to Plague. The same alien who cut off my right arm. His skin tone was vomit green, just like him. He wore tattered pants, no shoes, and no shirt. His boney and decayed ribs attracted tons of mosquitos. His eyes were sunken and almost lifeless, but he smirked at me. He floated just above the ground, sitting criss-cross in the air.

“Because. I’ve heard of your little dispute with Rhys. I want to help.”

“_Oh really?_”

“Not in that way, no. I’d rather die than try and work alongside you anyways.” He laughed at the thought of it. “No no. I’m here to give you advice about Wisdom.”

“Wisdom? That stupid Demigod?”

“Yes. You see, she was one of the main leaders in our empire, before… _complications_ arose. She worked on a way to make a person completely immortal. Undying. Like a zombie. And before I was forced out of my job by a specific _someone_, I helped fund all her little projects and strides towards immortality. It seems that she’s put your friend under her influence.”

“No kidding,” I told him. “He seems to be leading this whole operation.” We paused, looking down at the cackling fire in the middle. I stared at the stub on my right hand.

He sliced off my right arm. I was lucky he didn’t slice off more. He took away something from me. Left me in the deep for years. And I still, really resent him for that. If Elliot ever came back, she’d hate me the same way.

“Did you ever question how he’s still alive?” He asked me, breaking the silence.

“I… never did. There’s been people who came back to life unexpectedly. Kinda like you.” He slightly smiled.

“I’m a special case, no thanks to you. But… What about your father? Doctor Ghatzbur?”

“He’s not my father, just a friend of mine that takes care of me...” I thought for a moment. Dr. Ghatzbur isn’t a demigod. How is he not dead? Sooh-kah seemed to catch the look of realization on my face.

“See what I mean? I have a personal belief that Wisdom actually solved the cure for death. Rhys is alive after hundreds of years. Your doctor… even longer.” He seemed distant. “But I don’t think she made them invincible. No one has found a solution for invincibility.”

Did… Did Dr. Ghatzbur tell me _everything_ about Wisdom? If he’s still alive… How did I _never_ question this?

“Wisdom,” He continued, “is a dangerous person. She is very strict and controlling of the people below her. She has very precise ways to do something. If you have a way to counter her, she can counter right back in fifteen different ways.”

“No shit, sherlock. I know she’s going to be a planner just by her name.” He rolled his eyes.

“Well… just be prepared for anything. She’s just like Cypher. She likes to play on your weaknesses. And there seems to be a lot to work off of.”

“I am not weak. I’ll kick your ass in two seconds flat.” He laughed.

“You’re absolutely hilarious. I’m not talking about that kind of weak, Everheart. Honestly, I don’t even think I need to give you advice for this. Just be sure to stop Rhys before he has awakened Wisdom. Simple enough.”

“Thanks, poindexter. Are you done yet? I need to sleep.”

“Hmmm… okay. I can’t wait to watch this all unfold. You’re so underprepared. Have a good day!” He floated off, probably back to the ditch he crawled out of. What an asshole. I despise people like him.

“I’m gonna kill you Sooh-kah!” I shouted.

“Not if I kill you first!”

He left me alone in the dark once more. I stared back down at my right wrist. If he thinks I’m the weak one… Well, he’s wrong. I’ll take down Rhys easily. When I finally get the Council on my side, this’ll be a cakewalk. Just you wait. _”Underprepared”_ my ass.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soohkah! Demigod of Plague, Stargalaxan, TRASH MAN
> 
> i'M THE TRASH MAN


	13. Dragon Ownership Liscenses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riku uses a lot of insults on a lot of Government Officials.

Riku looked over the vast horizon of the ocean. In the distance, she could see a small resemblance of an island.

“Rocko… we’re here.”

She was right. Below her was a vast array of ships speeding through the waters and transporting goods, some various people pointing upwards towards her and the dragon. She was met face to face with the bordering ocean town, a poor area with crappy buildings stacked on top of each other. In the distance was a large set of white mountains, fields and villages. She smiled.

That was when she noticed the smaller island almost right under her. The place was a fortified juggernaut, lined to the brim with cannons and weapons that could kill Rocko in two seconds. There were soldiers in heavy armor shouting and lining their weapons right at Riku’s head.

“Oh come on… Rocko, could you land down at the docks?” Rocko nodded, then took a nosedive. Riku jumped off right at the dock of Fort Knox and looked up at the soldiers coming to kill her.

She decided against killing them, even though doing so would be so much easier. The men coming up to her were tall and muscled. She crossed her arms. This was so stupid.

“Hey there guys.” She spoke. “Did I piss off the Council? Boo hoo. What a travesty.” The two ignored her words.

“Are you here on your dragon with the approval of the Council?”

“What?”

“Did you get your dragon approved for travel by the Council?”

“Is that seriously it? No. I didn’t, and I shouldn’t have to.” The two looked at each other and silently agreed on something.

“Miss, you’re under arrest for dragon theft.”

“_Excuse me?_ He’s my dragon, asswipes!”

“I’m afraid the only government-issued dragons are given to Generals and Commanders.”

“My dragon was _government-issued’_ thousands of years ago.” She looked up. Rocko was still in sight. She whistled. “This is bullshit. I’ll go talk to the Council myself.” Rocko came flying down low to pick Riku up. The two guards grabbed her by the arms and pulled her back. Rocko roared and hissed at the two guards. “H-Hey! What are you two doing?” They strapped a pair of regular handcuffs on her.

“Ma’am, you are under arrest! That is not your dragon. And you are slandering the name of the Council.”

“The Council can go and suck my dick!” She punched one of the guys in the face. “If you two don’t get off me, I’ll kill you!”

“Backup, requesting backup, rogue citizen.” The guard spoke to someone. She could hear people running towards her. Rocko was roaring confusedly.

_I don’t want to make an enemy out of them… But these guys are acting like fools._ She let herself catch on fire, and the two backed off like cowards. She stood up.

“Are we done playing now? Seriously, could you two pick up your shit and tell me where the council is?” They looked at her in fear. One guy picked up something that looked like a walkie-talkie.

“The fire master’s returned… H-His daughter is here. What do we do?” He paused. “Wh-What do you mean we _kill her?!_ J-Just bring her to you…? Okay…” He looked up at Riku and scowled. “The Generals want to see you.”

Riku decided to let the two escort her inside the fort. Rocko waited patiently for her on the docks, and the other soldiers didn’t know what to do with the dragon because it hissed at anyone who came close.

_If no one could bring me to the Council, maybe these so-called ‘generals’ could._ She walked forward, seeing that this specific island seemed to house prisoners and soldiers. To her left was a door that was labeled “INMATE CLASS D”. She passed through bland, white halls with no real decoration to them besides benches that were built into the walls. It looked like a prison or a hospital.

They then entered a hall titled “MAXIMUM SECURITY” that completely changed the mood of the fortress.

It turned from hospital to torture dungeon. The walls were stone grey, dark and bleak while it curved into something more like a circle. The only source of light was the dim ceiling lights above. The room opened up, where below her was 50 more floors, all the way down to rock bottom. In the middle, a column with an elevator. Soldiers in squadrons and electricized weaponry marched up and down the bridges that led to the elevator below them. Around the outer walls were the dozens of prisoners in their cells, guarded by some green force field door. 2 guards guarded every cell. On the top floor where Riku and her guards were was people waiting with cannons. The two guards led Riku to the elevator.

Once they got in, the operative pressed the UP button, which led them up the different floors. They slipped right out of sight, above the prison system into a new area. When the elevator stopped, they were now in some grand room. Towards them looked like a boss’s office. This must’ve been the General’s offices, because two people were waiting in the room, sitting in executive leather chairs.

_This better be worth the goddamned wait._

“Ms. Falkner… Welcome.” The woman spoke. She had a slim figure, with her hair tied up in a braid. “I’m Captain Ramirez. This here is my coworker and partner, General Pederson. You are here because of your father, isn’t that right?” She gave Riku the chance to speak.

“What? Hell no. I’m here to see the council because you’re all going to be dead if I don’t see them.” Ramirez looked to her partner and sighed. She turned back to Riku.

“Tactics like that won’t work on us, Master of Fire. Your father still needs to suffer the consequences of his actions-”

“Wait, do you think I’m the Master of Fire?” She snorted. “Ha! What a joke.”

“Please do not interrupt me, ma’am. We’ve-”

“I can do what I want. Bring me to the Council.”

“_Ma’am-_”

“Council.”

“_Stop-_”

“Coun. _Cil._ C-O-U-N-C-I-L.” Her coworker stood up in an annoyed rage.

“Shut up! You aren’t allowed to speak while the Captain speaks, you filthy mutt!” Riku rolled her eyes. _This is getting ridiculous._

“Fine then. All I know is that I’m not the Master of Fire, and I can prove it. First off,” She used her Demigod power to make the coffee cup on the table fly away. “Secondly…” She let off a powerful wave of fear, causing everyone in the room to buckle in terror. She kicked her guards in the crotch and watched them fall in pain. “Smell ya later.” She ran back to the elevator she came from. Captain Ramirez struggled to get a grip of herself, but she looked up at the runaway.

“W-Wait… Y-You’re… _You’re…_”

“Something better than you.” She tried to use her hands behind her back to press the elevator buttons. The two _generals_ were still trying to get up.

“M-Miss Everheart, I-I’m so sorry-”

“Don’t talk to me. I’ll find the Council myself.” She finally found the down button, and the elevator speeded back to the ground floor.

There were guards waiting for her there. They tried to stop her, thinking she was the Master of Fire. _I’m not that weak._ She set the entire floor on fire, and the guards quickly ran to safety inside the elevator. Riku walked out of the maximum security area and back towards her dragon. The other guards were there. Riku didn’t remember what they did to try and stop her, but it was what she called “pathetic”.

Rocko was still there, outside. He nodded at her. Riku boarded her dragon and left the place without a second thought.

As she soared above the island, she spotted a particularly well-guarded palace that seemed to be closed off, guarded in the pass of the mountains. Rocko took a dive-bomb towards the building.

The place was secluded in a misty mountain pass. A long trail lead up to the entrance. The mountaintops were cloudy and cold. Rocko got himself below the clouds before landing on the dirt trail leading up to the large doors that guarded the palace.

Riku looked up towards the palace. Its elegance was guarded by a large, formidable stone wall. She noticed that along the rocky mountains were built-in guard towers and defense mechanisms. The place was surprisingly Chinese-inspired. Water fountains sprinkled down the mountain along the stairs going up the place.

She looked around, seeing that other dragons circled the place with soldiers on their backs, guarding the Council. They roared and snarled at her and Rocko.

“Don’t kill them. They’re just showing off. You can relax now.” Rocko flew off. Riku started up the stairs. The dragons encircling her came closer. The dragon-riders were holding heavy rifles. Some soldiers came running out of the palace and down the stairs.

“PUT YOUR HANDS WHERE I CAN SEE THEM!” One of them shouted. Riku shook her head and laughed.

“What a joke.” She let off another powerful wave of fear, hoping to try and throw off the upcoming guards. It worked well, as the squadron leaped like pansies and started crashed down the stairs. Riku moved aside as the guards tumbled by her. She lifted her hand up, lifting the men in the air before they could fall any more.

“Save your energy. I still need a guide to the Council.” She continued up the stairs, holding the 5 men in the air.

When she finally got to the top, the large gateway doors towered over her. Someone must’ve had to control them from the inside. “HEY!” She shouted. “Anyone willing to open the doors? If you don’t, I’ll find my own way in!” After a few reluctant seconds, the doors pushed open.

The palace opened up into a front courthouse of sorts, where dozens of well-armed soldiers held fifty guns to her head.

“Thanks for the warm welcome.” She finally set the five soldiers down. “Anyone wanna show me where the Council is? If not, I don’t think the Council will mind a few fatalities.” One guy shakingly raised his hand. “Good boy! C’mon, I’m getting impatient.” He stood up on shaking knees, and pointed towards the large, grand gold palace. There was a large circular window above the gates where Riku presumed the Council was. While Riku walked through the dozens of pants-soaked idiots, the one who was her “guide” followed behind slowly. She looked back at the guy and glared. “Hurry up, cocksucker.” He scampered along faster.

Riku had finally found her way to the doors of the Council’s main room. She opened them, and inside was the 6 members of the Council.

And they all looked like _faggots._

Each of them had their own snotty pettiness to them. And Riku absolutely despised it. The Master of Water spoke. He had grey hair tied into some braid behind him.

“Who dare disturbs us at this hour? Who are you?”

“I’m Riku Everheart, the representative for the God of War. And I’m here to discuss an upcoming problem.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are 12 total elemental masters! They are included as:
> 
> Water
> 
> Earth
> 
> Lightning
> 
> Ice
> 
> Sound
> 
> Grass
> 
> Fire
> 
> Wind
> 
> Light
> 
> Shadow
> 
> Time
> 
> Poison
> 
> And yes, only 6 of them are Council members! The other six will soon be revealed. Except maybe one.
> 
> Also big insults and riku is a douchebag


	14. Everheart gets praised for just existing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Touring a massive castle.

_”I-I can’t… I can’t just leave them. Not like this.”_

_”You have to. There’s no choice.”_

_”Why? Why do I? This is the one time I have a stable life and it’s just taken away from me by HIM?”_

_”We didn’t know he would do that. It was unprecedented even by the gods. Something went wrong. You’re going to have to. It will be fine. We’ll make sure you never see them again.”_

_”Why?”_

_”Because if you do see them… Well, let’s just say things won’t be pretty for any of us.”_

“O-Oh miss Everheart… Whatever shall we do?” Water Master wailed. Riku mentally rolled her eyes but kept her serious composure. After proving to the Council that she is the real Everheart (and by proving, she just scared them into believing), she had just finished explaining the situation of Rhys and Wisdom to the Council.

“Don’t worry, Master of Water. I’m sure this will all be handled easily. I was just requesting your aid in battle.”

“We’ll always aid you, mighty Demigod! What do you need from us?”

“Well… I was just requesting military backup against this building army. I’m sure that they are nothing as… _organized_ as our empire.”

“Yes yes, of course… I’ll leave you in charge of our military services! We put our wholehearted trust in you, Demigod of War!” The Master of Water grabbed some communication device on his desk. The other Elementals looked down at Riku in appreciation, like they were basking in the radiance of a goddess. Riku gulped uncomfortably. “General Pederson! Captain Ramirez! Get to our office immediately! There’s been a change in leadership!” He put the communication device down and looked at Riku eagerly. “Those are our two most entrusted military leaders! They’ll serve you for as long as you acquire!”

“Good, good… I hope we can discuss more of this at dinner…” Riku thought for a moment. _Those two blubbering imbeciles? They’re the leaders of the military?_

“Y-Yes! Dinner! We’ll set up a feast in our best dining location! I’ll get on it right away, Miss!” The Elemental looked down at his device. “It seems the Generals are here. They’ll be your guides to our wonderful palace. We’ll give you the best room we have!” Riku nodded. She seemed to be able to walk out of the room without any troubles.

Outside was the two that confronted her at the prison. General Pederson looked extremely nervous.

“Ms. Everheart…” Spoke the Captain, “M-My apologies for earlier today. We mistook you for someone else. I hope you can... forgive us.” Riku shrugged.

“It’s fine. I don’t really care.” She looked at the General. “But don’t ever call me a filthy mutt again, unless you want a busted ribcage.” The General nodded frantically.

“Of course! I-I’m so sorry.”

“Whatever. It doesn’t matter now. What matters is that we beat the enemy to a pulp.” She turned around, offering her left hand to shake. “I’m Riku. Cut all the royalty crap, because I’m not royalty. Treat me like a human being. Anyways, it’s nice to meet you.” Captain Ramirez shook it.

“Nice to meet you too, R-Riku. I guess we’ll show you around then?”

“I guess you will.”

The two Generals acted as guides through the endless hallways of the mountaintop kingdom the Council had constructed for themselves. Hundreds of floors, each serving a new purpose that Riku could never wrap her head around completely. The main halls themselves were at least 20 feet tall, with beautiful blue flames in torches illuminating the endless halls. The halls cut off into many separate rooms with things that weren’t needed in a castle. _A 5th indoor pool? You’ve gotta be joking me…_ Riku thought to herself as they walked by one of the several pool rooms.

Riku remembered a time in her past life, when the “Council” of Elemental Masters had never needed a grandeur castle to act as leaders of the Island. They were efficient, only needing a small main base. Before it all crumbled down, and became the shell of what it is today...

It just felt like an overly expanded, magical mansion. Lower areas within the mountain held footsoldiers, training grounds, and basic storage. Middle floors, preparation such as the kitchens and weaponsmiths that forged soldier’s weapons. The highest floors were reserved to the Captains and the Council, as well as important guests. Riku, of course, was considered an important guest. Bedrooms, meeting rooms, VIP indoor pools and beautiful outdoor views of the kingdom below was upheld at the tallest point of this castle.

One thing that caught Riku’s eye was the utilization of the phenomena, the floating rocks that surrounded the mountain.

Floating rocks are magic, in a sense that they gain their floating traits by the Elementals. The flow of powerful energy coming from each Elementalist together showed to keep the chunks of land afloat.

Some floating “islands” just held luxury items such as 1st class dining views, odd pools and the like. The one island that Riku kept note of was the _Island of the Fallen_, a place where Demigods and Elementalists alike could go back and seek help from those before them.

They rode the central elevator to the top floor, where Riku’s room awaited her. Captain Ramirez and General Pederson watched anxiously as Riku inspected the room.

“I’m going to change real fast. You two go do… whatever. That tour exhausted the hell outta me.” Riku told the two. Ramirez and Pederson looked at eachother, then they nodded.

“Yes ma’am.” the Captain told Riku. “Be sure to meet us and the Council for dinner at 7PM tonight, up at the-”

“Yeah yeah, the mountaintop dining hall, yadda yadda yadda. I know what I’m doing, thanks. I’ll see you later.” She quickly shut the door to her room, locking it. She took a nice long look at the room, and she sighed. “We’re really doing this, huh?” She took in the sense of what was about to happen. Rhys was coming. Things were happening, and this time, she couldn’t blame it on anyone but herself.

One glance at her mechanical hand reminded her of one thing: _Dr. Ghatzbur._ He had some explaining to do.

Riku, after settling down on the plain white bed provided for her, went straight to her right hand, to call the old man.

It rang a few times, but eventually, it picked up.

“Afternoon, Doc.” Riku started, holding her right hand up to her ear.

_”Good afternoon, Riku. It’s good to hear from you once more.”_

“So uh… I’m just gonna get straight to the point. What do you _really_ know about Wisdom, Doc?” The Doctor stayed silent over the phone for a slight moment.

_”What do you mean, Everheart? All I know is-”_

“No, you obviously know more. Cut the shit. Only one of us is a Demigod, and the other is immortal, even though they _obviously_ shouldn’t be.”

_”Everheart… what does immortality have to do with this?”_ He asked. Riku scowled.

“You know exactly what it has to do with this. Wisdom found the cure for immortality before she had gone, Sooh-kah himself told me. Don’t try to dodge this, Doc. There’s probably some explanation for it. It’s not like I… I’ll just ditch a good friend.” Dr. Ghatzbur paused for an even longer moment.

He finally sighed. _”I… I see. I’m incredibly sorry I’ve been keeping the truth from you, Everheart. The thing is… do you remember the time before you were a Demigod?”_ Riku tried to recall herself 5,500 years ago. When she was just a simple human in the world of terrifying demons and monsters.

Things were simple. People lived in barely functional wood huts. There was no hierarchy, no people paying the Everheart any mind.

A terrifying demon, a Demigod of Nightmares named _Jekyll_ plagued the island, slaughtering many. And Dr. Ghatzbur… he was one of this demon’s pawns, being forced to help in his rein. That was, until the original Everheart was able to finally seal him away, reduced to nothing but a ghost haunting a piece of jewelry.

“Yeah?” Riku asked. “It’s fuzzy, but I remember it.”

_”Jekyll had been one of Wisdom’s adversaries. You weren't on his side of that terrible war. He had me take the so called ‘aging cure’, provided by Wisdom. So I would never die. The only way I can die now is for some terrible sickness to befall me, or if someone comes to kill me.”_ Riku nodded in understanding.

“Huh… I don’t know why I never asked you… Thanks for clearing it up. Great, not only do I have to deal with a crazy leader with the smartest being in the galaxy on his side, but they’re also _immortal_.” Riku gulped, knowing that she’d have to lead an incompetent army through a ragtag team of immortals looking for vengeance.

_”Hey,”_ Dr. Ghatzbur reassured her. _”It’ll all work out in the end, you know. I will back you up no matter what. And knowing your sense of persuasion and… leadership… You’ll be able to fight through this just fine.”_

“I guess so… They’re all stupid, you know that?” Riku complained. Dr. Ghatzbur chuckled lightly over the line.

_”You’re not the one who has to make business deals with them on a regular basis…”_

“Sounds like _oh so much fun._”

_”You bet, Everheart. Well… I’ll be meeting all of you for dinner tonight, as they invited me for the extra backup. I’ll talk to you later.”_

“Yeah, sounds good Doc. Alright, bye.”

_”Goodbye.”_ Riku hung up the call. Sitting on her new bed, she sighed, long and heavy.

_Oh god… what am I going to do?_ Rhys was a man she met a long time ago. _Mistakes_ were made… but she put it in the past, thinking it was going to go away. _Everything’s coming to bite me in the ass right now._

She was filled with confusion and anger. _Why is everything my fault, somehow?_ Rhys was here because of her. Thomas, Jessie and Kaitlyn were gone because of her.

Elliot was gone… all because of her.

She gulped. _No gameplan. Just… just winging it. I’ve winged it so many times before, so why… why is this so different?_ Rhys knew her every weak point like it was nothing. After 1,000 years of separation, he still had that same resentment, just like all those years ago.

_I’ll go to the Island of the Fallen tomorrow. Tomorrow, I’ll just… get a bit of help from my ancestors._ She frowned.

_Ancestors that were villainous, genocidal demons._

But then she remembered.

_What makes you so different than them, Everheart?_


	15. Dead, but not really. Just dead inside. And maybe outside too.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elliot's still adjusting to her permanent new life in hell.

_”She didn’t DIE! She left us! Left us in the dust!”_

_”But… sh-she wouldn’t just do that to us. She loved us all… didn’t she?”_

_”This isn’t right… It doesn’t add up to why she disappeared. Was she kidnapped?”_

_”I’ll tell you what happened! She was the undescribed killer in the papers. She MURDERED him. Then to cover it up, she left us. She used us as scapegoats for YEARS!”_

_”I-I don’t believe it… She was so kind to all of us, especially you.”_

_”It doesn’t matter now! Our feelings for her were irrelevant! Her feelings for us were FAKE!”_

_”Well… It seems like you three are upset over something.”_

_”...Who are you?”_

_”I’m a guide to those who are lost. I know your pain well.”_

* * *

I couldn’t see very well. It was cold. The endless void spiraled down into destroyed buildings, like an apocalyptic world. Everything was covered in this painful, black sludge that burned at the touch. Nothing made a single sound. Almost calming, in a terrifying way. Ruins towered over me as I sat in the corner of the decayed room.

The only light came from the thin layer of ceiling that encased the void. The place below the universe in it of itself.

Something was watching me, but I didn’t know what it was. It sent a chill down my spine. Almost as if… It was right behind me, waiting to strike.

Sure, there were other _things_ here. People? Who knows. Beings that used to have a conscious. They’re decayed, blackened skeletons that hunt for anything alive it can get its grubby little hands on. All of them tried to kill me. If they see you, they won’t stop. Zombies who were lost to time in this frozen scape.

Maybe someday, I’ll become just like them. Trying to search for myself in a place without hope.

This was my home now. After weeks of being here, I’ve finally learned to accept it.

I tried so hard to break the ceiling thousands of feet above me. It doesn’t work. It never works.

She threw me down here… This hell. This empty, cold hell. I wanted to be angry. The look in her eyes was cold. She didn’t even care, as I fell endlessly, into whatever this is.

Did… did she ever care?

Now I know her. She’s a deceiver. A liar. After all these years, all this time she’s been the one thing I’ve looked up to ever since I came to Earth and yet, she was also the thing that cast me aside like I never mattered.

Funny, even after she sent me to hell, I can’t stop thinking about her.

She set me free from being a simple servant in my home world, Stargalaxa. Her bravery, her endless leadership and courage… she was so confident. Something I never was. I strived to be just like her.

I eventually felt like I was confident enough to live up to her. I had found her living this life as yet another undercover teenager in high school. I thought she would be impressed by how far I’d come.

Nope. Not at all, actually. This is where it lead. 5,500 years of her friendship tossed aside like nothing.

Riku Everheart was nothing like the Demigod she used to be.

I want the Everheart I know back. I want my life back.

I’m so ashamed of myself. Crying over her, being mad… I was stupid to trust her. A Demigod of War, friendly? What a joke!

Then again… A Demigod of Destruction, being a good person… I’m so confused. Did I deserve this?

I tried to rationalize her behavior. Maybe I tripped and fell, maybe she was trying her hardest to try and get me out of here… I wanted to keep that mindset. That she still cared in some way.

I didn’t want to let go.

Soon enough I stopped my constant depression and got over it. Riku never cared anyways.

The first week when I fell down to the very bottom of the void, it was crawling with those lost skeletons. Crawling. The sludge covered near every torn down building, leaving only small pathways to walk. I could sense that presence again, only much stronger.

The place stretched out into a ruined village surrounding a massive castle. It reminded me a lot of the Ancient Islands the Everheart and I used to visit.

I was going to be ripped apart, then and there. But all of a sudden, there was a noise. A loud, gurgling noise, then a roar that shook the ground. Every single lost one in front of me disappeared completely, terrified of that roar.

I was terrified too. I’m still terrified. I’m going to die.

I’m going to die down here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the Void.
> 
> Elliot's not dead. What? Why would she be?
> 
> The Void is a place where everything goes to die. No one remembers your name, and you slowly go insane.


	16. Tom and Jess: 'confused screaming'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After waking up tied to a chair, Rhys comes in to explain everything to the Falkner Twins.

The room was dark, only a single lamp hung from a rope illuminating the room. There were two chairs idly sitting in the room.

Thomas couldn’t see a thing. There was cloth covering his eyes and face. When he first tried to move his hands around, he realized that they were tied behind his back on the chair. He tried desperately to wriggle his hands out of his binds, crying out for help in a muffled scream.

Jessie tried to stay as quiet as possible, but once she heard the person beside her, she started to move around. Her hands and feet were bound by some form of metal. She felt oddly… warm, and tingly like she was sitting directly by a fire. Yet there was no fire there. Jess could recognize who was sitting right next to her right away. She knew that voice like the back of her hand.

The door opened, and Thomas immediately stopped kicking around. The people who took him were intimidating. They took his sister, which is someone Thomas thought would always be able to protect herself. But they took her, and then they took him.

Both people in the chairs stayed dead silent, listening to the singular footsteps walking back and forth in the small room.

Suddenly, the person who had been pacing around removed the blindfold and gag from Jess’s face. She glared up at the person who had removed it.

It was a very slim man with his black hair greased up into something of a spike. There was a single grey streak running through his hair. He had a bit of facial hair, coming off as something that looked like a goatee. On his blue winter jacket was a glowing golden badge with an eye attached to it. The man frowned as he glanced down at Jess.

Jessie looked over to the other person.

“Tom! Thank christ, you’re alright…” She scowled back at her captive. “What do you want with us?”

“Oh, don’t worry Ms. Falkner,” The man spoke as he undid Thomas’s gag and blindfold. Thomas looked back at Jessica with relief in his eyes. “We aren’t here to hurt you, trust me with that. My name is Rhys Allerton. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Elementalist of Fire.” Jess raised an eyebrow.

“What are you saying? God, you’re crazy! Let me and my brother go, please!” She pleaded. “You’ve kept me here for weeks now. Tied to a chair, in some cell, _everywhere!_ Just… why…” Thomas looked at his sister, and he started to tear up.

Rhys’s glance shifted into one of slight embarrassment. He looked back to the two armed guards by the door and signaled for them to get out of the room. “I’m… awfully sorry about that, Jessica. You too, Thomas… The thing is, with the Everheart being around you two… it made things _difficult_. I mean no harm, and I say that with 100% certainty. We’ll let you two free in just a moment. I just need some time to explain.”

“E-Explain what?” Jessica spoke with an uncertain voice. Her captor was crazy, this was crazy! “Where’s my family at, why are you doing this?! I just want to go home…” Rhys frowned.

_This isn’t going as planned._ He thought in his head. “Well… again, we’ll explain everything, but first…” He stood in the center of the two siblings. “Have you ever questioned anything about your ‘friend’, Riku?” Jessica just continued to stay quiet and angry, wanting to break free and bust out of whatever facility she was in.

“Y-Yeah…” Thomas suddenly spoke up. “Yeah, I have…” He looked to the side, ashamed. Jess gave her brother a look.

“Thomas, don’t play into this guy’s words! He’s crazy!” She shouted. Thomas looked back to his sister, giving her a small smile.

“It’s just… Jess, after you left, Riku acted so _oddly_. Then all of a sudden she was on fire, her hand was metal, for whatever reason… I was terrified. I _still_ am. At… everything that’s happening. But…” He looked back to Rhys. “If this guy really is telling the truth, then maybe… maybe we should listen…”

“Fine! Listen to the lunatic! I don’t even care anymore, Tommy!” Defeated, she just looked to the side.

“She used fire around you, huh? Just like that?” Thomas nodded. Rhys just chuckled. “Typical of the Demigod… Listen to me… Jessica, we know of your history in those ‘mythology classes’ you and Riku took together. Do you remember the Demigod stories that you studied?” Jessica refused to look at Rhys, but she nodded. “Well… I may sound ridiculous at this moment, but… those simple stories of Demigods and monsters you’ve read… those are real. Each and every one of them.”

“Liar.” She hissed.

“I wish I was lying. It was hard to adjust when I first learned as well. Mr. Falkner, do you remember how Riku was combating those footsoldiers? With the flames?” He nodded. “That’s just one aspect of their ability. Riku, your friend, has been keeping horrible secrets from you. People in this world, in our reality… they have abilities that can allow them to manipulate the world around them. There are the Elementalists, and there are the Demigods. And well… after several studies… I believe that you three are each elementalists.” Jessica raised her head.

“What? That’s crazy man… I don’t believe it, and I’m not gonna!” She retaliated. Thomas just had a puzzled look on his face.

“I-I don’t understand… this is all so… _new_...” He spoke.

“Ah, right… Thomas, you never took those classes with your sister…” Rhys remembered. “Well… since I am not one that you are willing to trust… Jessica, would you mind explaining all of these _terms_ for him?” Jessica rolled her eyes.

“Fine. Tommy, the crazy man is spouting nonsense about these people in the stories I read about. Demigods are like mini-gods except way less powerful. Elementalists are just very specific wizards without the spells and the wands.”

“Does… does that make sense, Thomas?” Rhys asked. Thomas shook his head, and Rhys sighed in defeat. _We’ve gotten nowhere…_

And with that, Rhys spent a nice long hour explaining the entire mythos of their own world. Thomas, despite being terrified, listened to the lesson intently, Jessica adding missing points along the way.

“..._Now…_” Rhys blinked his eyes to stay awake. “Does _that_ make sense?” Thomas nodded, still a bit unsure. “Good. Now… we suspect that you three… are Elementalists. When we tracked your heritage… the Falkner family has a long history on this island.”

“W-Wait, hold on a second…” Jessie interrupted. “You said three? I thought it was just me and Tommy.” Rhys shook his head.

“No no… It was you two, and your friend, Kaitlyn.” Thomas and Jess’s eyes both widened.

“Kait? I… This is all _too_ crazy for me to handle…” Jessie was always so fond of the whole idea of magic and monsters… To meet such heroes in those stories like the Demigods… _especially_ the Demigod of War… would’ve been a dream come true to her. But the thing was that she had already met her imaginary idol. She talked to them regularly without her even batting an eye.

When her mother urged her to take mythology classes in highschool, she first thought it to give her more cool stories of myth to read up on, more monster-like worlds to get involved in. Now… well, now was a different story.

It was all so new. If she was younger, being thrown into this cool universe of magic would’ve been like a dream come true. But now… it just seemed so farfetched that it was terrifying.

“Yes yes… crazy, I know. This was why we needed you in those handcuffs, Ms. Falkner.” Rhys pulled out a small silver key. “Once we unlock your restraints… please, be sensible.” He went around the back of her chair, clicking open the lock of the cuffs. Jess rolled her wrists, stretching her hands out. Rhys quickly took a step back, chuckling. “Exactly what I meant… Don’t burn your brother there, Jess.” The girl raised an eyebrow. She locked eyes with her brother, who was eyes wide in shock.

Jess looked down at her hands. They were on fire. Not figuratively, but literally, on fire. She was burning. But it wasn’t hurting.

“Wh-Wha… What’s happening to me?” She asked.

“It seems like you can’t yet control your abilities like I had hoped… That’s okay. We have a few spare Elementalists here that can show you two the ropes. Welcome, Elementalist of Fire.” _F-Fire?!_

“Wait, does that mean-” She raised her palm to the nearby stone wall. A large burst of flames shot out of her hand, blowing her back onto the ground. She smacked her head against the cold, concrete floor.

Rhys was unlocking Thomas’s binds but when he saw Jess on the ground, he rushed over. “Are you alright there?” He seemed a bit worried, as her head hit hard against the floor. She just sat, staring at the ceiling and laughing.

“Hahaha…” She spoke slowly and out of focus. “So… coool…”

Rhys laughed once more. “Well, I hope you get used to those new abilities. I’m glad we came along to help you two right as soon as you awakened your abilities. Now, Thomas…” His handcuffs were finally taken off his hands, allowing him to get up and move freely. “Look at yourself.” Rhys reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny mirror, like one used for makeup.

Thomas squinted into the mirror. “It’s… too bright, I can’t see anything.”

“_Exactly._” Rhys snapped the mirror shut. “Currently, you’re made of light.” Thomas looked down at his hands, just like his sister.

They were glowing, almost blindingly. Pure yellow light dazzled all around him.

“Wooah…” Jess laughed. “Tom, you’re like a star…”

“I am?” He asked. “This is… Mr. Allerton… Who am I?” Rhys just smiled and walked up to the orange-haired boy, putting his hand on his chest.

“Mr. Falkner, you’re _you_. But more specifically, you’re the Elementalist of the Sun.” Thomas paused for a moment, processing this information. He slowly but surely smiled, becoming more sure of himself.

“The sun…” He spoke in awe.

“H-Hey!” Jess sat up from the floor. “How come I only get fire, and he gets the _entire fucking sun?!_” Rhys only shrugged.

“I have no clue. I don’t make up the rules of who gets what power.” He told her. Jess just pouted, crossing her arms.

“The whole sun… Unfair…” She complained.

“W-Wait, so if I’m the sun elementalist…” Thomas started. “Then there has to be a moon elementalist, right?” Rhys only shook his head.

“No no, there isn’t a Moon Elementalist, sadly. I guess you could say that the Element of _Shadow_ opposes the Sun Element, but shadow opposes many things.”

“Shadow? That’s really cool… Do you know who the Shadow Elementalist is?” Thomas asked Mr. Allerton.

“Well… we believe it’s your friend, Kaitlyn.” Jessica suddenly stood up.

“Wait, where is she? She’s here with us, right?” Rhys paused for a long moment.

“Oh, well… She’s… In _special containment_ with a friend of ours. But she’s being taken care of, I assure you. Now…” Rhys hooked his arms around the two siblings. “Why don’t we get you two settled?” Thomas and Jess both smiled, completely trusting of the man who just kidnapped them and told them goblins were real.

When the two were settled, Rhys immediately dropped his smile. He picked up a walkie-talkie from his belt.

“How is the K-J fusion test going thus far?” He spoke into the device.

_”Subject is refusing the spirit, and she continues to do so. But… it seems they’ve calmed themselves down a bit.”_Rhys nodded, smiling.

“Good, good… we’ll need all the help we can get.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YAY NEW ELEMENTALISTS
> 
> but where's kaitlyn? uh oh


	17. War gets a stern talking to by her elders

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riku gets some advice from her murderous ancestors.

After we all went over everything at dinner last night, I felt so tired and lost. We’re really doing this. We’re really going to go through a war. With the dude who I thought I finished off long ago.

It wasn’t even my fault. None of this is my fault, it’s all _theirs!_ I shouldn’t have to try and make up everyone else’s mistakes!

The Council, they all believe that they have no part in this little affair, even though they’re the strongest members of the Ancient Island’s militia. All of them are scared to death of commitment and actually _doing shit._

We just went over the change of leadership, Rhys’s plan, and our own. In the end, we decided to hold off until Rhys makes his move. Currently, I have no idea what he could be planning. What his war strategy is. I have nothing to play off of with him.

Unless, of course… I want to play dirty. Play with emotions, strike fear in them. But that’s something I’m not doing.

The morning sun rose over me and my glorious hotel room.

Yeah, the ‘guests' suite’ is just a plain old hotel room. I feel _so special._ It’s your standard two beds, a TV in the front of the room, a closet and a bathroom, and then the balcony.

I went out to take a look at the island from my balcony last night. It was dark, but I could see the villages below us.

Despite our society being the most advanced technologically, we can’t get our shit together to get rid of the crippling poverty. Everyone lives in fear of death, each day. The poor people down there live in tiny wooden huts right below the fortress. I wish I could go down there and try to fix the problem myself.

But that isn’t _my_ issue. It’s the Council’s. They’re _their_ people, not mine. Count me out.

I decided to slip on this blue, ironed uniform the Council lent me, along with rolls of bandages. The uniform consisted of a white button-up, a pale pair of pants, and an overcoat with golden linings, the sleeves only going halfway down my arms.

I started wrapping the bandages around both of my arms. They still… kept this tradition? Huh, funny how they threw out everything that made Elementalists the strong, courageous warriors they were, but they kept a nice little accessory to tell everyone how important they are.

Bandages, or wraps, show people your status based on the placement of the wraps. When people wear wraps around their feet, they’re considered extremely poor, as they can’t afford shoes. That’s most of the people living below us right now.

Go higher up the body, the more wealthy you are. Powerful political leaders and rich people wear these wraps as scarfs and neckwear. They’re normally different colors than the standard pale ones I was given.

Militia wears the wraps around their arms and hands. If you use them on your hands, you are a footsoldier. The more you wrap around each arm, the bigger of a deal you are military-wise. I’m currently covering both of my entire arms, besides my right hand.

But anyways, pointless explanations over… After I got dressed, I decided to skip breakfast and go for brunch. I took strides towards the elevators, my mind already made up.

The Island of the Fallen was opened up and free, considering it was 6 AM. I managed my way up onto the floating island, standing in the center.

An elm tree stood tall in the center, swaying quietly in the wind. A pool of clear water surrounded the tree.

Rocks jagged up at the ground around me, some floating in the air. 14 rocks stood above the others, clearly chiseled out to look like gravestones. Strange writing was etched on each rock.

I went to the left of the tree, to a stone engraved with the words “WAR”. There was smudged writing right under WAR, but it didn’t matter.

I pressed my hands against the smooth, cool chunk of rock in front of me, watching it glow a dark hue of red. I could hear slight russling behind me. Hundreds of spirits formed a circle around me. I took a step back into the center of the island, watching the deceased move into their respective places. I could see a hole in their circle, most likely where I’d be standing once I die.

Each spirit was different in shape, none the same. There had been no human versions of the Demigod of War up until now, so each new being was an alien species. I could point out some of the races I came across in previous lives. Most were the ghostly demons like Jekyll, having no body. Others, actual demons. Some were also Stargalaxan.

I looked across the way, finding the one that was before me. A tall, muscled man who had devil’s horns and dragon’s wings. His cold, dead eyes stared down at me with malice. He wore broken chains around his wrists, and metal armor across his chest. There was a necklace he wore with bones as jewelry around his neck. He was slathered with these markings, white handprints and a tattoo that said ‘CONQUEROR OF THE SEVEN.’ I had no clue what it meant, but it terrified me. His neck was slit open, blood seeping through to mark how he had died.

Each Demigod before me was an evil spirit who slaughtered many with no mercy to their name whatsoever. Me? Just some human who fights from time to time. My ancestors didn’t really like me.

Every old Demigod in the circle stared me down.

_”Demigod of… War…”_ The demon started. _”What are you here for now?”_ The ‘Conqueror of the Seven’ held a monotone voice whilst we talked. He seemed distracted.

I thought for a moment. “I’ve just come with advice from those before me. Masters of Conquest and terror, my country is going to war with an enemy I thought long passed.”

_”Give me the numbers.”_ He asked me. I knew exactly what he meant.

“We have our six members of the Elementals, and myself. They have the awakening Demigod of Wisdom, and that is all I know.” I told him. He calculated it for a moment.

_”Demigod of Wisdom, you say…?” Another man spoke. He had a massive gash across his chest, a full grey beard on his face. *”She was my one rival. She knows your every move.”_ Yeah, buster. I knew that already.

_”That Demigod should not matter.”_ The Conqueror spoke. _”As the Demigod, you know what exactly to do to win any fight, no matter how brutal. That is what we are, as true Demigods! You, Everheart, hide behind walls. The last time I checked, you are not the Demigod of Trickery.”_

“And the last time _I_ checked, you’re not Demigod of War anymore. Why? Oh, yeah, ‘cause you’re dead.” He glowered at me. “And you can’t do nothing about it, sport. You don’t have this anymore.” I raised my hands, letting them burst into flames. “Besides… I’ve done something none of you have ever done before. And I am _not_giving up my position just to win this dumb war. All I ask is for a first move in this game. Once that’s done and over with, I can do this all on my own.” I saw that the Conqueror was bawling his fists, shaking them. He was a spirit, he couldn’t touch me.

_”F-Fine.”_ He rolled his eyes. _”You humans really are pathetic… I used your race’s skeletons as chew toys for my pet Chimera…”_ He muttered, loud enough for me to hear. _”Lay low. Once he attacks, strike without mercy. You are the Demigod of… War. Take pride in being one.”_

I thought about this for a moment. My opponent… even if he has emotional ties to me, I shouldn’t have emotional ties to him. His drama with me is in the past, along with all of his other lackies. I feel no remorse for him anyways. Rhys was just… annoying.

We do have the firepower to destroy him. If the Council is right about how _good_ their military is… which I seriously doubt… then we’ll be fine on that end. I should have no fear on this.

I don’t care for Rhys. I just want this to be over so I can go home and forget about it in a couple of decades.

“I… see. That settles it, then. Once this is over… I’ll talk with you again. Good day.” I started walking towards the exit of the Island, watching the people around me fade away.

_”W-Wait, Everheart…”_ A voice called to me from behind.

I turned, and the spirits reappeared. The man who spoke was shriveled and very old, one eye covered with an eyepatch. He was hunched over, carrying a cane. His skin color and lack of facial hair told me that he was Stargalaxan.

_”I… see something, in you. Something that could fatally mess with your plan of action…”_ The man closed his eyes, then opened them widely. _”Who is… Elliot Harrison?”_

I tensed. The other Demigods looked at me in confusion.

“Wh-What are you saying, old man?” I asked him. “There’s no one I know named Elliot, stop lying.”

_”I am not the one who lies, Demigod… Although, you are very keen with lies. She is… Stargalaxan. She is tied to much of your upheld fear and grief. I can sense it.”_ He pointed a finger at me, his shriveled hand shaking. I wanted to see if punching spirits was something I could do. _”If you state that this battle has no such thing to do with personal connections, then you are also wrong. Her bond with you was strong. Very strong. Yet I see… you… gave up that bond with the Demigod.”_

“Stop telling me what I already know! There is nothing I can do about that situation…” I tapped my foot, leaning back towards the exit. Emotional _counciling_ is not what I came here for.

I don’t care, why are they pressuring me? I don’t care.

_”Yet you still care about the girl somewhat?”_ He asked me. I shook my fists just like the Conqueror did at me.

“N-No! I don’t care about ANY of that! It doesn’t impact this war one bit, not at all! So why are you persistent on the issue?” He looked at me, emotionless as he raised his finger once more, pointing at me.

_”What are you wearing around your neck?”_ I looked down to find a beaten down old rag of a red scarf around my neck. I quickly grabbed it and threw it to the ground.

“What? _This?_ It means nothing to me. Absolutely nothing!”

_”You will pick it up once we leave, won’t you?”_

“NO! Of course not!”

_“Lies once more.”_

“NO! I’m not… I’M NOT LYING!”

_”Oh, really now? Then prove it. Prove that you aren’t lying.”_ He continued to taunt.

I lit a bright, burning flame all around my body. “I’ll prove it. Right now.” I stomped on the scarf. It started to catch fire, smoke billowing out into the skies. I stomped on it again. Once more. I watched as the tattered pieces flew around me, blowing in the wind, fading away. “I… I denounce you, Demigod of Destruction. You mean… _nothing_ to me.”

The heat intensified, flames growing bigger by the second. I stared down at where the rag used to be. The fire spread to the nearby grass.

The old Demigods faded away, leaving me and the slow crackle of the inferno surrounding me.

I could still feel the sharp cold winds blowing on my back. Soon enough, the flames dissolved, leaving nothing but a black ring on the floor. Charred cloth was still encircling me.

I knelt down, right in front of where the scarf was just sitting a minute ago. I clawed at the floor, picking through the dirt to find just _one piece_ that was still there. There had to be something.

But… there was nothing. It was all just soot and grime covering my hands.

I stood back up, turning away from the elm tree that towered over me. The wind was howling, freezing cold. I shivered for the first time in a very long time.

I walked downstairs, back into my room. It was a new day, yet my body ached. I crashed into my bed.

I turned, checking the clock on my bedside table.

There it was.

A new, long piece of red cloth. A few tatters were along the edges, but it was almost brand new.

I buried my face into my pillow, wanting to get back to sleep.

Suddenly, a knock at my door. “Master Everheart?” General Pederson spoke from behind the door. “Training is beginning in five minutes. We hope to see you down there.”

Struggling to sit up out of bed, I glared at my door. _Leave me the hell alone._

I immediately grabbed the scarf, and made my way to the end of the room.

It’s the start of a brand new day after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That scarf is a symbol of something
> 
> All of the previous Wars! They're much more destructive than the current War.


	18. Peer Pressured into Liberating a Country

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jess and Thomas have finally gotten adjusted to life in Rhys's army. But something feels off.

It’s been a week since we were orientated here. The military getup scared Tom and I both. I don’t want to be dragged into a war just ‘cause I can spontaneously combust.

Tommy and I were given this… odd room. It was a hotel room with no windows. The walls were stone. On the plain white beds were two military uniforms. They each had that same badge that the leader wore, except it was bronze. Right above the eye symbol was our names. THOMAS P. FALKNER and JESSICA R. FALKNER. Thomas and I really _didn’t_ want to put on their creepy military gear, but we had no choice because of our disgusting dirty clothes we’d been wearing for weeks.

I felt like someone was holding a gun to my head.

They said that their group called the “EYE OF WISDOM” was like a family, and that we’d get to know everyone here very well. It sounded like a cult. Thomas was often uncomfortable with certain situations. They had him hold a gun and shoot some targets. He always told me that he hated violence.

The people in charge told me we couldn’t go back home until ‘the war’ was over.

We’re being dragged into something that terrified me.

Since we were ‘special’, they had us train with other Elementalists just like us. The three seemed very considerate and patient, helping us with any questions we had. And boy, did we have a lot.

The first one, she told me she wasn’t even an Elementalist, but a _Demigod_. I tried to ask which one, but she never answered me. She seemed to be somewhat shy, but still friendly.

The second, he was very technical with everything he told us. _”Your flame’s core temperature should always stay at a considerable 750 degrees Fahrenheit. If not, consult a doctor immediately.”_ I told him I didn’t even know how to summon a flame yet. He told me we’d get there.

But… the third… seemed a bit… impatient? Rude? He didn’t like us very much. He kept asking me about Riku instead of training us. His other two buddies kept telling him off, but he persisted.

They were nice and all… but...

I don’t ever want to end up like them. Ever.

Even with their kind attitudes, they were bloodthirsty. We tried doing sparring with our powers, which was fine considering I box as a sport, but them… They gave us an example, and they beat the living hell out of each other. Badly. They wouldn’t hesitate with trying to break one of our limbs. We were left with many bruises afterwards.

That, and when we had to do target practice with the standard rifle… Guy No. 3 pointed his rifle directly into Guy No. 2’s chest. I think he meant it as a joke at first, but then he _pulled the trigger._ Guy 2 directed the bullet away using a powerful gust of wind. Thomas and I were stunned. They all just started laughing hysterically.

That, and their scars were just… too disgusting to look at, at times. Guy 3 had an eyepatch. The 2nd guy was fine considering his face was covered by metal… but the girl… her skin was literally _rotting._ My mind couldn’t get off what had happened to them.

Kaitlyn was still nowhere to be found.

They kidnapped us… I thought I was going to die. But they’ve kept us fed and taken care of. I felt like we were on a forced vacation with lots and lots of violence and a nice big war at the end.

I always loved the thought of a good fight, but jeez… throwing me right into chaos isn’t the best way to do it. I wanted to go home.

The guy in charge, Rhys… He apparently said he owned his own private ‘fortress’ on one of the Ancient Islands. The dude gives me the creeps.

Just his mannerisms… they seem skewed. He looks right through us when he’s talking. He twitches from time to time.

A few days back, Rhys and his highest subordinates gave us a tour of the place. It’s very nice. Training grounds, plenty of barracks to house the thousands of soldiers they had in their military, even a private pool.

Thomas and I tried to play along with the idea that we were going to join this war… but I really wanted to talk to Rhys about leaving. I was scared of the idea he’d pull a Lotso from Toy Story 3 on us.

Even if we did leave, where would we go? We’re already thousands of miles from home, in a country that I didn’t even think existed. Was the currency in US. Dollars? I guessed not. Did they even speak English?

Today, Rhys wanted to talk to us again. Something about what the war was about.

Thomas had told me it was some vendetta against Riku. I found that… somewhat believable. Everyone has this… unrooted hatred for the Demigod of War. And Rhys told us that Riku was War herself.

Seriously?! War was my favorite Demigod! And I knew her this entire time?

Once I see her again, I should ask her all about the stories. My favorite being the tale of War and Destruction. Like, how would that even work? Is Destruction a ghost? A demon? No one knows, it’s like they’re a myth or something.

Thomas and I were sitting on our beds, watching a broadcasted rodeo but with flaming, angry dragons. The local channels were crazy.

A person knocked on our door. Thomas stood up to open it.

Before us was Rhys, along with two heavily armed bodyguards behind him. He was wearing a nice suit, with a bright red tie. He nodded to us both.

“Thomas… Jessica… Thank you for joining me today.” He twitched again. “Come on now… I have a meeting that’s starting in 30 minutes. I wanted to make this quick.” He gestured for us to follow, then he turned. The guards followed behind closely, keeping us at a distance. Thomas and I walked behind him.

“Now… I believe you two have seen some form of… well-deserved hatred for your friend, correct?” He asked us, not turning to face us.

“Well, I dunno about _well-deserved…_” Thomas spoke. “But yeah. A lot of people have asked us about her.” Rhys turned, smiling. He put a single finger up. He was wearing a pair of gloves. He walked backwards as he talked.

“That’s where you’re wrong, friend. It is very much well-deserved. Our group of people… we were all, at one point, deceived by that Demigod. Everything was taken away from me. Us, as the members of the Eye of Wisdom… our goal is to show the world the path of death and pain the ‘hero’ known as the Everheart has caused. We brought you into our family… because well, we couldn’t just stand and watch as the Everheart would eventually hurt you too.” Tommy looked at me, concerned.

“I just…” I paused. There was no way she was as bad as they were saying, right? Yeah, all those sorts of stories usually have a group that tries to paint a hero in the wrong light. “I kinda find that hard to believe, Mr. Allerton. Riku has always been a good friend to Tommy and I.”

“That’s exactly what I thought she was to me.” He stopped walking for a moment, looking up at the bright sky. “We met during the tough times of the black death. All the way back in 1347. She was my friend. Or…” He looked at me and Tom sharply. “At least I _thought_ she was. She’s done this to a lot of the people here.” He turned back around to the direction he was walking. “That’s why we need all the help we can get spreading the word around. We just want justice. And if we have to take it by force, then so be it.” We walked into a white hallway, people with lab coats surrounding windows and control panels. I tried to look into the windows.

It was a massive testing room. In the center, a sphere of light, struggling to break free. I could sense eyes gazing at me from every direction.

There was another test room across from the other. It was pitch black, but I could see the silhouette of a person, kneeling on the floor. They were covered in some black substance.

“We plan to resurrect a Demigod of our own to overpower the Everheart entirely. Now tell me, Jessie… Have you heard of the Demigod of Wisdom?” I looked down at the floor… we studied this when we did the unit a month back…

“She found out a cure for old age and death, right? But then she was banished for being too powerful by her own Goddess.” Rhys nodded.

“She was also tossed aside by a higher power, just like all of us. She was what gave us all the ability to persist. You see… I’m only human. I have no special powers that makes me immortal. But Wisdom keeps us all alive. I, and many others, have been alive for centuries thanks to her. Once she is brought back, once she is given justice… then we’ll get justice of our own. I know that you two were once close to your friend, Riku… but trust me when I say this now: If you go back to her, she _will_ betray you. I’m giving you advice. Abandon that friendship you two had with her. Because when I’m through with her, well…” He paused.

“I’m going to have her severed head on a stick.” He turned towards us. “Going against War _in a war_ sounds idiotic, but trust me… With all of our forces, she’ll crumble like dust.” He raised a shaking fist up into the air, smiling. “I can’t wait to see the day. That’s why… well, that’s why we need you two siblings. We’ll run you through everything, and eventually… The Everheart will breath her last breath.”

I gulped. This dude’s _crazy_...

Do I want to kill my friend? Hell no. He’s shady. I don’t like him, not one bit. I quickly glanced at Thomas. He shifted uncomfortably.

“Anyways… thank you two for your time, and I hope I gave you a bit more insight on our whole situation. Now… I must be getting to my meeting. Good day.” He turned around and walked away, his guards trailing behind him.

“J-Jess…” Thomas grabbed my sleeve. “I-I don’t want to do this…” He looked at me, his eyes wide and concerned.

“I… don’t want to do this either. C’mon.” I pulled him back through the way we came. “We can’t talk in public.” Soldiers walking in even lines in full camo marched past us, rifles in hand. Scientists were crowded by the two windows we passed by.

I looked back into the windows. The light had not shifted, but I kept my mouth shut. Something was watching us.

The other window… I stopped. Thomas tried to pull me along, but I wouldn’t budge.

There were now two beings in the room. One was reaching out to the other, crawling almost as if they depended on them. They were incased in shadow.

The being ran… _into_ the other. They disappeared, and all that was left was the one person in the empty room.

I squinted. Who was that?

Oh.

_No._

_No no no… They can’t be…_

Kaitlyn fell down on the floor. I could see her in distress. Shadows encased her, almost making her disappear as if she was a ghost. She crawled to the window, pounding on it, looking at the doctors, begging, _pleading_ to be let out, to get the demon out of her system. I immediately identified who was in there with her.

She looked at me, and she stopped. I could see her mouth my name. _"Jess?"_ Her hands were pressed against the glass. Her eyes welled up with tears. She stopped shouting. I couldn’t do anything. The look in her eyes wanted me to stay.

“Jess? J-Jess, c’mon we gotta go!” Thomas pulled on my sleeve hard, finally causing me to jerk forward. I tried pulling away but Tommy’s nervous grip didn’t let go. Kaitlyn watched in disbelief as I was dragged away. I can’t make a scene.

I couldn’t say a thing. Thomas finally dragged me back to our room, inside. I sat on the bed, staring at the wall.

“Jesus, oh god, Jessie, what do we _do?!_ I-I don’t want to fight anything, I don’t want to get into this _war_! Riku’s gonna _die_ i-if we don’t… God…” He started hyperventilating, going on and on. I didn’t interrupt him.

“We… We have to get out.” I finally stopped Thomas. “We have to leave. _Now_. We… we have to find Riku.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hahaha, bold of them to assume Riku's gonna die


	19. Rhys reps his merch store

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhys is so close to getting his revenge, he can almost taste it.

_”WHERE? WHERE COULD THEY BE? THEY-THEY HAVE TO BE CLOSE TO HERE, R-RIGHT?”_

_”...”_

_”Holly, I beg of you, help me move this out of my way. They must be down here, right? I am far too weak to move this out of the way, Everheart… I need your assistance...”_

_”...Everheart?”_

My view from the balcony of my room was… satisfying. Seeing the cliffside mountain fortress just within my eyesight reminded me of my own accomplishments.

Slowly, meticulously planning for our organization to finally show its face to the Ancient Islands has certainly paid off.

I may not have the brawn to put up a good fight with the Goddess of Battling herself, but I certainly do have the brains. It’s how you control the masses. If you have a foolproof plan, the knowledge to pull it off, and the determination to continue on with your goal, leadership is just something that sticks.

I’ve found myself with powerful allies as well. And very soon, this will all be ready. Completely. I can almost taste it. My bitterness for such a sour character as the Everheart… I’m certainly proud of myself for being so patient.

Our meeting with some of the neighboring monster towns was a complete success. Funding is yet another element. Those tribes of beings just like us have had enough with the all-powerful government known as the “Elementalist Society.”

I must admit, seeing my enemy as someone completely different every time I check up on them is confusing. Ruby? Amber? Now Riku? What is this, a cartoon? You can tell who the villain is and who the hero is just by their names. No flashy, spiky hair needed.

Although, Riku and I both have that aspect covered too.

This is the ultimate battle of brain and brawn, after all. Yet we all know how it ends.

I know her every weakness, her fears, her dreams… And what she wants to hide. She tries so desperately to be the hero she sees herself as… yet she falls short in the end. A couple good deeds does _not_ make up for the hundreds of terrible ones.

I have been in close touch with the growing spirit known as “Wisdom”. As I’ve heard, she was cast aside. Just like me. Her power grows with each day. Soon enough, she’ll be reborn.

Surely this isn’t what our overlords the Gods intended… but sometimes fate needs to be tampered with.

When I was abandoned by the “hero”, the Everheart had broken me. Taken everything. I was hopeless, angry, lost. Searching desperately for any way to fix this. And then, I came across this spirit, speaking to me from a place unknown. Wisdom granted me immortality, for the small price that I’d eventually free her.

I consider her my partner, working on our operation, and what we stand for. The rebellion.

With that, I’ve been silently stalking the Everheart for the past millennium. I clean up the mess she makes. All of the people she left behind, I swoop in and give them an opportunity to give the Everheart what she deserves. Surprisingly, I’ve met many, _many_ people. That, and I branched out my horizons for any people who felt they’ve been wronged of anything the mystical Elementalists here do.

And our empire has grown. We have a total of 30,000 soldiers. Impressive, correct? I convince one person to join, and in turn, they convince 5 other people who’ve been betrayed to join. The cycle continues for near 1,000 years.

It must seem like a pyramid scheme though, correct?

I wouldn’t consider it to be. My men and I each have the same undying goal: To get our vengeance against all the Demigods and higher ups. We just have a specific grievance with one Demigod in particular.

30,000 men, and now 4 Elementalists, plus 3 Demigods. I feel slight guilt for our dear friend Nightmare, but sometimes, things have to be this way.

We’ve all survived our set of… _challenges_... but luckily, most of us have stayed in fit shape.

Our plan of attack starts as soon as Nightmare is completely healed. Once we group together… we head straight for the scummiest slums in the West side of the Ancient Lands.

I’ve studied the economy, the social structure, and the lives of everyday humans living on these islands for years. Wealth and general populous happiness were at their highest peak back in 2016, yet ever since then, the charts have decreased rapidly, to the disgusting pile of slosh it lives in now. I can just _feel_ the growing hate from the slums.

And of course, I am a classy young/old man. I’m wearing my casual winter coat, jeans and a t-shirt repping our cause. _I JOINED THE REVOLUTION AND ALL I GOT WAS THIS LOUSY T-SHIRT._ Now on sale for 20% off on [www.RhysRevolt.com/merch](http://www.rhysrevolt.com/merch)! Buy it in bulk for your everyday revolution needs. We also have a nice mug and stickers too!

You just have to relate to a younger audience. One of my younger subordinates told me to call it… “hella lit fam”.

Ahem, merchandising aside…

I was so excited to finally meet in person with the Falkner twins, and Kaitlyn. They seemed to be so innocent, yet ready to learn about this harsh reality. Our methods of obtaining all 3 of them were… unorthodox, to be honest… Kidnapping isn’t that smart of an idea. But Riku just… would _not_ leave her side. After she stumbled upon one of our pickup groups who were trying to recruit new soldiers… I had to act quickly.

The Falkners hated me at first… Jess spat at me every time I tried to communicate with her and her brother. Eventually, she learned to trust me, but I still sense her hesitation.

I really wanted to try recruiting their parents… but when I tried looking for them, I had found that their father had passed away years ago, still living in the Ancient Lands. Their mother was nowhere to be found when we visited the area, yet the two were not adopted into a new family.

Kaitlyn, on the other hand… her mother is still a member of the Council.

Both families fled to the mortal plane, fleeing from the chaos. I wouldn’t blame them.

Jessica and Thomas have integrated well. They have a strong bond with the 3 I met years ago, and they’re really adjusting to all of the new information.

Kaitlyn… I haven’t gotten much of a chance to communicate with her, but with the small snippets of conversation we’ve had, I can see myself in her. She sees things out rationally, studying everything around her. She gets very urgent in times of panic, just like me.

Jekyll is a controversial figure. But he has the same goals as me. He just wants to completely obliterate his arch-nemesis. He insisted in getting a body of the Master of Shadow, for “old time’s sake”. He was lucky I found a match just for him.

He’s almost like a parasite, infecting and taking over people. One of his old hosts, Dr. Ghatzbur… I actually admire him quite a bit despite him working for War.

After our meeting was over, I kindly said farewell to my clients, and took one step out of the general room.

I was immediately met with one of my scientists, who was working on Jekyll and Kaitlyn’s fusion. “M-Mr Allerton, sir!” He stopped me dead in my tracks. I still had my foot against the door I had just opened.

“Yes, Dr. Grosthworth, what is it?” I asked him. He looked down at his holographic clipboard, scrolling through notes.

“O-Our two subjects, th-they’ve…” He stopped again, groaning in some form of confusion. “They’ve…” He stopped once more.

I put my hand on his shoulder. “Come on now, spit it out? Was the fusion successful?”

“You… You have to see it!” He yelled, grabbing my arm and dragging me towards the laboratory.

Suddenly, one of my Elementalists ran towards me, from across the hall.

“General Allerton! Rhys!” He yelled. I stopped, and the Doctor stopped as well. Although, he continued to tap his foot.

“Ah, Commander Rivera! Yes, what is it?” He stopped before me, fist shaking. His faded black hair cascaded over a portion of his face.

“It’s those two kids, sir! The twins!” He seemed very irritated. All three of them must be a bit on edge. First, Kaitlyn, now this…

“Yes?”

“They… they’re going towards the main city. Towards _her_ fortress.” _They just up and left? And nobody stopped them? Why did no one stop them?_

“The two must’ve been… a bit hesitant. I can respect their nerves. But I _cannot_ afford to lose two Elementals, Commander.”

“I’ll hunt them down and drag them back here myself, estúpidos malditos niños…” He started to curse in Spanish. He did that when he was exceptionally upset.

“Rivera… I’ll need you, Boyd, and Jackson to secure their location and bring them back to us.” Rivera immediately saluted me, turning around to get the other two. “But…” he stopped in his tracks. “Please, be gentle with them. They’re still young and impressionable, so I need them to trust me. Make sense?” Rivera nodded.

“Fine, yes sir… Those damned kids…” He cursed as he walked off. I sighed. We must be vigilant. I can’t just give up now because of one small flaw.

“Now…” I turned back to the awaiting Doctor. “How is Nightmare doing?”


	20. Thomas becomes a real hero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jess and Tom are trying to escape, but Captain Riverra has other plans.

“Tommy, you behind me?” My sister was somewhere ahead of me, calling my name.

“Yeah, I’m here!” I responded. I jogged a bit forward to catch up to her.

The surrounding forest completely blocked out all sunlight from our path. I could hear the gentle yet very powerful winds blowing all around us. It was just like any other old forest, yet I could see certain wildlife that I’d never met before. There seemed to be these dark green flowers that made me feel very drowsy when I got close to them. They set off a weird mist that intoxicated me and Jess. Jess told me to steer clear of them.

We had just… up and left the ‘Resistance’. Jess brought me to the gates, and we asked for a map. When they questioned us, I said that we were just going out to check out the local wildlife. And he _listened_, for some reason. Poor guy.

We had no clue where we were going, but based on the way the map curved, we were going to head through the forests on the West side to a sandy pathway closer North, where we’d try and book it for the big city to the Northeast.

Jess had made sure to bring along one of the resistance’s machetes, and she used it to cut a pathway through the plants to the end of the forest. She had taken off her uniform, and she wore a white tank top. Even though it was windy and slightly cold for me, it seemed as if it was just fine for her. She wore traditional clothes from the waist down, however. Jeans and heavy duty boots. Jess swung her machete, not losing focus for a second. I always knew when she was in her element.

I was much colder than her, so I decided to take one of the Resistance’s winter jackets with their little badge on it. I also brought along a bag full of plenty of the essentials: Good snacks, water, and a first aid kit just in case one of those scary monsters we saw on the TV attacked us.

I also brought along something that I… kinda thought was unnecessary, but… nice…? A bow, equipped with a stash of arrows.

I know, I know. _But we have guns and so much more cool equipment nowadays, Tom!_ But… I just couldn't understand it. My aim with the thing was so accurate, it was like I was guided by like, a spirit or something. When I took aim at the targets, it was as if time itself slowed, and all I had to do was walk up and stick the arrow in the bullseye myself.

I mean, Mom always told me I had a good eye, but I thought it was for the best sales at our local Walmart! Now I can save 20 whole dollars on groceries _and_ shoot a bullseye!

But either way, we were both slowly making it out of the forest. It had been a good two hours since we had left, and my sister’s uneasiness had only grown bigger. It didn’t seem good. She’s been asking me every ten minutes to see if we’re being followed. I haven’t seen anything just yet.

My feet were aching, and we were only about… what, 3 miles in, at best? We _had_ to find someone to at least drive us there… It’s like a full roadtrip’s worth of walking before we even see the supposed city. I wonder if Uber is available in completely foreign countries. I saw a few pamphlets… seemed like those big futuristic cities I’d see in some Hollywood movies.

I just silently walked behind Jessie as she continued her pursuit through the forest, slashing away. Whenever she stopped, I’d give her a swig of the bottled water I brought.

_’That’s all I am. The sideline waterboy for my sister. I might be some weird superhuman Elementalist, but my sister’s the real deal, the center of attention. That’s because she’s the only one that matters.’_ I gulped. My mind kept wandering around, thinking of all these certain ideas. They’ve been really frequent ever since I came here.

But… that can’t really be all that true, right? There’s got to be at least one time…

I was taken out of my train of thought, as I tripped and stumbled right onto my sister, knocking us back down. She groaned, pushing me off of her. The winds nearly blew my sister’s bandana right off her head. She scowled at the woods.

“Damn, the wind’s intense…” She complained. “I mean, seriously… I thought I checked the forecast today, it was supposed to be…” Her eyes suddenly widened. She looked towards me. “How long has it been since you checked behind us?”

I thought for a moment, looking down. I hadn’t really been thinking about it. “I-I don’t… remember when. Maybe like, ten minutes ago? Twenty? Why?” The look on her face told me that I just donked up. Jess suddenly seemed very alarmed.

She picked herself up, yanked my arm, and started dragging me along.

“We have to get moving, they could be here any minut-”

BANG~!

The tree that I had just passed. An inch from my face, there was a smoking bullethole right in the trunk. Right at my head level. Jess and I both froze. Shoot. Shoot, Tommy you… dimwit!

“Damn. I was aiming for the sun-god.” I could distinguish that man’s accent from anywhere. “You two. Headin’ off to see the big city without a proper escort, huh?” I heard a rustle through the nearby bushes to my right. “Well, too bad. If you were just some runts, I’d shoot you both dead right here, and right now. I don’t have a single ounce of patience for you two brats, so if you don’t want me to use the elephant tranquilizer, you better start moving back to base.” There was suddenly a voice right ahead of me. “Don, General Allerton’s orders weren’t to _terrify_ the kids, you know.” I moved my eyes to the guy ahead. It was the cyborg guy, the Elementalist of wind. He glanced back at Captain Riverra with a stern look.

“So what? They have to get over it, there’s going to be worse things in this than just scaring a couple kids-”

“Don’t scare them anymore, you imbecile! The _point_ is that we shouldn’t be looking like the bad ones here-”

“You just admitted it! Right there and then, _’we’re the bad guys!’_ y sin embargo me llamas el idiota…”

“Don’t you dare call _me_ the idiot here! It’s because…” He lowered the gun he was pointing at my sister. She seemed to notice it too. Mr. Boyd facepalmed, groaning. “Can we go one single mission without you being a huge dick, Riverra? We leave the company of all your recruits and now you go acting like this?”

“Oh my _fucking_ god, you cannot be serious right now, Boyd.” I could hear the faint sound of a gun being placed back into its holder. I could just tell. He wasn’t armed any more. Wow…

They really think that we’re _that_ weak to just put their weapons down? Jeez, how insulting!

The two continued to argue over each other. I skimmed my eyes to my sister. She seemed to be creating a gameplan in her head. But I knew she needed time to figure everything out.

C’mon, Tom… use your brain for once…

“W-Well…” I finally relaxed, butting into the conversation. Commander Boyd reached for his holster again. “I did think that Mr. Riverra almost shooting me in the head is pretty scary…” Cyborg man smiled, as he knew he was right. Before he could say anything, I butt in once more. “B-But… that’s… in a good way! In just one move, one remark about me being… a sun-god… You just showed me two things!” They each raised an eyebrow. Jess was still deep in thought. Just a bit more…

“Yeah? And what’s those two things, kid?” the Captain asked.

“Well… For starters, just by shooting at this here tree...” I patted the tree with a hole in it. “I can tell that you are incredibly strong, and that you shouldn’t be trifled with, C-Captain, sir…” He smirked. “That, and… it shows how powerful the Resistance as a whole is. It convinces me that we’re already in good hands with them, and that we should go… right back. So, technically… Captain, you scared us, and you got what you wanted… and Commander, he also showed us the strong forces of the Resistance. He convinced us that we should go back and stay with you.” _Good lord, now we’re just spouting nonsense._ Jess seemed to be in deep concentration. A single bead of sweat moved down her forehead.

“Hahaha, I guess so, kid.” The Captain smirked. ”But either way, we should be heading off now. And since you’re so… convinced… then let’s mov-”

_FHWOOOM~!_

A massive blast of heat emerged from my sister, forcing me to leap out of the way. The immediate area around my sister was engulfed in flames. Commander Boyd and Captain Riverra both flew backwards, tumbling into the woods. The fire quickly spread, and soon enough, I was coughing and tearing up. I continued to blink, keeping myself low to the floor.

A sweaty, really warm hand suddenly grabbed my arm, dragging me towards the ends of the woods. I looked up. Jess was covered in soot, and she looked exhausted.

“C’mon, that’s not gonna hold them for long!” She yelled at me. I got right back up, following behind my sister. The forest around us was quickly becoming a blast zone, as every step Jess took was just another fire added to the chaos.

“H-How many more miles?” I asked her. She shook her head.

“No clue, just keep moving!” She picked up the speed, leaving me in her dust. It reminded me a lot of home, except without forest fires and scary soldiers.

My legs ached. My breathing was still heavy under the smoke. I feel like passing out. We had been running for what felt like hours.

I kept looking over my shoulder. Nothing. I didn’t understand, did they just… leave…? No way, I can’t just get lazy with it, we have to keep moving. Jessie was panting, clearly exhausted. Her and I both knew we couldn’t give up our running.

Everything was blurry. I never knew I could run this quick!

I could hear the distant howling of wind, slowly getting closer. The feeling in my gut just got more and more anxious. What were we thinking? We’re new at this, and they’ve been with their powers for… God knows how long.

Jess felt the winds blowing, and she sped up. I tried to call out to her, only to choke. I didn’t realize how exhausted I was.

“J-Jess, wait-” My body suddenly fell forward. I tripped over some rock sticking out. My sister slid to a halt, looking at me sprawled on the ground. She ran back to grab me.

The forest was finally clearing up. We had made it out. I was just being a clumsy idiot. Just a big, idiot. I tried getting up, but my whole body was shaking. My sister tried picking me up, but it was no use.

“Thomas Pit Falkner, you are _not_ giving up on me…” My sister whispered. “Get up!” I groaned.

Everything hurts… The winds froze me even more, but my sister was radiating some form of heat.

Maybe… maybe I was dreaming? This all seemed like one, very real dream… Or maybe the alleyway kids I see on my way home finally convinced me to try their ‘goods’...

This… this can’t be real.

Yet... here I am. My sister’s yelling at me, but I can’t really hear her. The winds got closer. Maybe I was shot with the elephant tranquilizer.

Funny… there was… another person, right behind Jess. They seemed to be building a big, black wall surrounding us. The sun finally beat down on the sand right in front of me.

I started to crawl in that direction, slowly. Jess pulled me along, struggling to do so.

The sun. I’m… some ‘Energy Elementalist’... right? This _has_ to be it! This is just me pulling a ‘Percy Jackson’ and using my element to give me sudden ground-breaking powers… hopefully…

My arms felt like giving up. Voices in my head begged for me to give up. But I didn’t want to. The wind guy was catching up, and the barrier ahead didn’t look too promising…

I couldn’t give up, for Jessie’s sake… and for mine…

My fingertips finally connected with the sun. It felt as if some massive weight had been lifted off my shoulders. The aching pain soon went away, and I could stand.

The sun against my back, feeling its warmth… I smiled, watching as the two Commanders finally emerged from the burning forest. Jess stood behind me, as well as Commander Jackson, who I had just recognized, holding her signature paintbrush in hand. The Captain and Commander panted.

“DAMN… BRATS…” the Captain screamed. “YOU TWO BETTER GET MOVING OR I WILL BRING YOU BACK WITH YOUR HEADS ON A STICK…” He pointed his special pistol at me and Jess.

I grabbed my bow and a single arrow from my bag, readying it.

“Leave us alone.” I told the three. “I don’t want to be apart of this war. Leave me and my sister _out of it_.” I raised my bow, aiming directly at the Captain.

I took one deep breath in, and I shot the arrow.

It curved forward in a quick flash of light…

Only for it to divebomb... right into the dirt.

…

“WHAT? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? YOU’VE GOT TO BE JOKING. JOKING! ALL THAT STRUGGLE JUST FOR IT TO FALL FLAT?!” I screamed.

The Captain just started cracking up, laughing hysterically. My face burned up. I can’t believe that it just…

IT’S NOT FAIR! **_WHY???_**

My sister finally collapsed. I looked back. She was unconscious. No wonder, after exploding in a ball of fire miles ago, then continuing to run… NO! THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO ME MY MOMENT OF TRIUMPH!

My adrenaline rush was quickly leaving me. The screaming pain soon returned. Riverra continued to laugh and laugh…

“Holy shit, that, that was _too good!_” He cackled. “You really think that you’re the shit, Falkner? What a fucking joke!” Commander Jackson stepped into the sand beside us. She put her hand on my shoulder. I defeatedly looked back to her. She nodded knowingly. I didn’t want to look at her face, but she was sympathetic.

“Don’t worry about the Captain, Tommy. He used to be just like you in his prime.” She reassured me.

“Yeah, that is true. We all start out like this, Tom.” Commander Boyd nudged the Captain. He looked over.

“Wha…? Oh, yeah. What he said, kid.” He chuckled again. “But… either way… We better get moving before Rhys thinks we killed you two. Good attempt though. Let’s get movin-”

The loud _clacking_ of gunfire hit the nearby trees, causing all five of us to duck. The ink-wall Commander Jackson created shattered as the bullets passed straight through.

I looked around. Jackson, behind me and Jess, jumped into her created wall, turning into ink and swimming away. The wall curved into the forest, and I saw her running in the distance. Boyd immediately grabbed Riverra, and in a powerful gust of wind, both of them sped away into the forest.

I couldn’t move. What, was the sun just gonna beam me up out of here? NO! I’m still mad at it not shooting an arrow correctly! Screw you, sun!! My sister can explode into a ball of flames but I can’t shoot a measly arrow under pressure??

Some armored truck pulled up to a halt in front of us, and from what I could see from my view on the ground, about 2 people got out of the truck. They were in uniform as well.

“Looks like these two were left in the dirt, eh?” I could see one of them pick up my sister from the ground. I closed my eyes, pretending to be unconscious. Some muscly dude picked me up, and slung me over his shoulder. “Two recruits, I believe.”

They placed me in some open area of the truck. I didn’t dare open my eyes. Was this _another_ rebellion? Were we just about to be sold off to the Ancient Island’s black market? I especially hoped it was the military in charge here.

Both of us. We’re nothing but ragdolls with hot-headed powers.

I felt one guy fiddle with my jacket’s badge. “Yeah, they’re recruits. Go by the name of… Thomas Falkner. Hey, what about the other one?”

“Jessica Falkner.” Another voice spoke up. He sounded young. “So they’re siblings?”

“Seems like… it…” He paused. “Wait, you don’t think they could be related to-”

“Holy shit. Holy shit, did we actually…? HA! WE FOUND ‘EM!” The younger guy sounded excited over ‘finding’ us. “We gotta tell the Captain about this! You’re higher ranked, dude, call her!”

“Alright alright… We’re _so_ getting a raise for this…” I could hear the muscly dude rummage through his bag. “H-Hello? Yeah, this is Cordato out in sector 18, West Coast! We gotta speak to Captain Ramirez… My code? Fuck, uh… 2-1-1-4-9-1-2.” He went silent for a few moments. The sun beat down on my face and body. Screw you, sun. “G-Good afternoon, Captain ma’am! We did our patrol of sector 18… and you wouldn’t believe what we found! There are two kids, last name’s Falkner!” He paused once more. “G-Got it, ma’am! We’re on our way! Good day to you too!” He hung up the phone.

Younger guy banged on some window. “Hey! You heard the Commander, punch it!” The truck started to roll. “Should we cuff ‘em?” He asked muscle man.

“For good measure… yeah, let’s.”

That’s when my sister groaned from the other side of the truck bed.

“Urgh… Tommy…?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thomas the arrow guy, failing at life


	21. Old men have a grudge with some teenagers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thomas and Jess unexpectedly just show up on Riku's front doorstep.

All was deadly still today in the Isle of the Fallen. A committee of War Demigods all looked to me as I spouted my nonsense.

“I’m just saying, the man’s threatening _my_ image! He’s a threat to what I-” I heard a faint little _ding~!_ of the teleporting elevator stopping right at the end of the island. Someone else was here.

All of the ghosts dissipated, and the person who was in the elevator stepped out. Another common soldier, most likely. I didn’t turn to face him.

I ran my hand over the cold tomb of the Demigods of War.

“U-Uhm… Master Everheart, ma’am!” He couldn’t get out the words he wanted to say. I rolled my eyes behind his back.

“What?” I asked. He continued to stutter.

“W-Well, ma’am… Captain R-Ramirez and General Pederson wanted to see you, urgently!” I could sense the fear in him. He was terrified of me.

I finally turned myself around to see the guy. He was scrawny, probably an intern. “Got it! Better not keep them waiting, right? Thanks, kid.” I walked into the elevator behind him, patting him on the back as I passed him. He made a whimpering noise, as if I was gonna kill him or something. Jesus fucking christ, what a wimp.

He smiled at me. “Y-You’re welcome, Miss Everheart!” He blindly saluted me. I pressed a button on the televator, and off I went, leaving the kid there. I don’t think he realized that I just up and left. Oh well.

Those two Generals needed me for the smallest shit. Training at 6 in the morning. Training at 10 at night. Training, training, training. All we were doing was bland training.

Is the training necessary? Absolutely. Rhys is powerful. He doesn’t scare me, not at all. But still, he’s a force to be reckoned with.

It’s just that those two Generals aren’t that good of fighters. For the top dogs, I had higher expectations, yet they somehow managed to disappoint me even more than I thought I’d be.

Okay, it’s alright. No need to worry. It’s just in and out. Another pointless war. Then I can go home and sleep off the regret.

Hoo, boy! You really are a teenager. So angsty, and for what?

My head constantly argued with itself on whether or not brooding was really a good idea as the elevator made its way to the floor I wanted to be on.

A small _ding~!_ and the doors sliding open signaled me we were on the right floor.

I hope this was good… that kid interrupted another important meeting I had with my ancestors. We’ve been chatting for a while… about the past, the present, and the future.

Who should I care? The past is in the past… right?

Wisdom told me that it’d catch up. And with Rhys coming back… with pretty much everyone I knew coming back… it just felt odd.

Not to mention the burning sensation I get whenever I look at that damned piece of cloth that won’t let me be. I regret it, okay? I… regret it a lot. Get off my dick.

I continued to walk down the grand corridor, to the Council’s main room. That’s normally where I’d meet up with the two, and I knew today would be no different. Their schedule is so precise it gives me a migraine. I could never live like this.

My mind wandered over to my next problem. Thomas, Jessica and Kaitlyn. God knows where those three are. Rhys kidnapped all 3, without warning. And why? For what reason? I had a hunch, but I can’t believe he thought kidnapping people would get them on his side.

I just needed to find a way to even get to them. I don’t know where they are, and what they’re doing with them. It could take weeks, no, _months_, just to find them.

I opened the large doors that led into the Council’s main office. No one had really paid attention to me coming in.

Thomas and Jessie were on their knees in the center of the room.

Huh.

Nice.

“Did you two think you could run from us? From what your parents did?” The Water Master reprimanded the two. “Someone in the Falkner bloodline must pay for their actions… And if your parents are such cowards, then their children must pay the price!”

I can’t believe how petty this is.

I had asked the Generals a few weeks back, what the Council’s deal was with the Fire and Sun Elementalists. Apparently, it was something about Tom and Jess’s parents ditching them and moving out into the “Mortal World”.

“Am I interrupting something?” I finally butt in. Every person in the room turned their heads in my direction. The Falkner twins looked like they were about to cry tears of joy. Both of them seemed exhausted, and pretty beat up.

“Ah, M-Master Everheart! I’m glad that your presence is here with us today.” The Water Master sung my praises. “We’ve finally caught these two, pesky Elementalists that’ve been on our nerves for years!” He seemed giddy. What a pompous jerk. Picking on two kids.

“Well, yes. I can… see that.” I took a few steps closer to the two twins. “But is now really the time to deal punishment on them, Master of Water?” I asked him. He immediately lost that cheeky look, now puzzled.

“Erm… excuse me?”

“We have a massive threat to the hierarchy, the life we’ve built here on these islands approaching at an alarming speed… but the main concern is… two children?” He gulped.

“O-Of course not! No no no, of course not, General Everheart, w-we-”

“If I’m being fully honest here, and I mean this with the least offense possible… it almost seems as if the Council is… petty, about this.” Every single member of the Council dropped their faces to fear and concern. “Which of course, is not what you’re trying to be. Every single one of you are still as powerful and radiant as ever, it’s just… even if this is one of your biggest goals currently, I don’t think now is the right time for this.” I now sung their praise. Just like I knew they would, they all smiled at my approval of them. Ugh.

“We’ve… waited years… _years_... Miss Everheart, you must reconsider this!” He yelled.

“I’m not _reconsidering_ a thing right now, Master of Water. My concerns don’t blow so low as to sentence two children for a petty crime. There are much more important matters.” I stood my ground.

“Y-Yes, Miss Everheart…” Another Elementalist, this time the Master of Earth spoke. “B-But this is something we’ve waited _years_ for. All we want is for the Council to just… get that sweet bit of vengea-”

“But is it what _I_ want right now, Master of Earth?” I snapped at them. Jesus, self-centered much? “I understand that you’re the high and mighty Council, but right now, in the moment, I outrank every single one of you. You are _all_ testing my patience.” The Council was silent for a whole five seconds. I looked down at the two siblings. They seemed uncomfortable. That, or they were going to pass out.

“This is… much more important than just some _petty_ crime, it’s treason! It’s… _i-it’s…_” I glared at the head of the Council. “...Something… we can wait a bit longer for. Right?”

I saw them all make faces at each other, silently trying to come to a consensus. The fear in the room was skyrocketing. It was almost radiating. If fear could be used as an alternative energy, the entire city could be powered just with the Council alone.

The Water Elementalist gulped. “I-I see, G-General. We apologize for testing you like this. W-We won’t do it again. We’ll… postpone their sentencing.” I smiled, and knelt down right beside the twins.

“Good. That works for me.” I got close to Jess. “Don’t worry, I’ll get you outta this.” I whispered into her ear. I helped both Jess and Thomas stand themselves up. “General Pederson.” I turned to the brute in the corner. “Uncuff them, please.” He nodded quickly, scampering over to the two’s handcuffs with a key.

“B-But… Master Everheart…” I mentally eyerolled. “What are we to do with them? We could keep them in the prison islands to the South of here…”

“I want them to stay here, in a guest’s bedroom.” Every single Council member gasped as if I had just flipped them off and spit in their faces. “They’re just teenagers. They’re just as lost and confused as any other newbie. I want them to be treated just as well as every Elementalist here, and that’s final.”

As soon as I was done talking, all of the Council members had something to say, all at once.

“We cannot allow it!”

“We _will not_ allow it!”

“Treacherous traitors deserve to be thrown into the maximum security prison! This is an outrage!”

I balled my fists.

“_ENOUGH!_” I shouted. The room shook as I let off a powerful wave of fear.

The Council members all fell out of their chairs, petrified. They held their breath.

The Water Master ahead of me started shaking, hyperventilating.

I took long strides towards his position, and I propped my cold, metal hand against the desk. “If you’d like to protest that… maybe even _go against it_... then you’ll have to come talk to me.” I leaned in towards his face, towering over him.

“**Personally.**”

“Do I make myself clear?”

He whimpered, then nodded profusely.

I grinned. “Perfect!” The fear effect died down, and a collective sigh of relief swept across the room. “I’ll be taking these two then. Good day to you.” I turned my heel at the head Council member. Thomas and Jessie both gawked at me, wide-eyed. I couldn’t tell if they were terrified or impressed.

I grabbed both of them by the arms, and dragged them out of the Council room. Every person sitting in the Council was dead quiet. Ramirez and Pederson seemed to be attempting to grab at their weapons, but they seemed too stunned to move.

As soon as the doors shut behind me, I relaxed and sighed a long sigh.

“Ughhh… that was the worst…” I chuckled. “Those guys are so formal and it drives me nuts…” I looked to the two twins. They were both frozen. “Erm… guys?”

The two immediately collapsed into me. I stumbled back a bit. Both of them were shaking, absolutely exhausted.

“We’re so glad to see you, Ri…” Tom exclaimed. “Once those army guys took us in, I thought we were done for… We’re so thankful for you saving us...”

“Yeah… What a coincidence you just happened to be there at that time, Riku... god, I… I have so many questions for you...” Jess seemed really out of it. I raised an eyebrow.

“It’s so out of the blue that you two found yourselves at the doorsteps of a place like this… Almost like the whole ‘you two getting kidnapped’ thing was completely fucking pointless.” I looked up at the ceiling, shaking my head. “But, either way…” I gently pushed the two off of me, and they both nearly tripped. “You two seem tired. Come with me, let’s get you guys your own rooms.” They sighed once more, nodding.

“That works.”

“Yeah, let’s…”

I took them over to the elevators. The two seemed way too out of it to be looking at the palace. I counted on them falling over, and I’d have to carry them. Luckily, it seemed as if they were actually competent in not dying. Although, they nearly collapsed when the elevator started going up.

“What the hell happened to you two while I was gone?” I asked them. Both of them had bruises covering their bodies, rips in their shirts. Plus, they both stunk like they hadn’t showered in days.

Tom and Jess looked at eachother. Thomas shrugged. “It’s a… long story, heh…”

“I’ve got a bit of time. I think. Plus, you guys were on enemy ground for a while, so you _better_ have some good dirt on the apparent ‘resistance’.”

“Hey, Riku…” Jess was studying me. “Just… just how old _are you_?” I blinked.

God, how old was I? I don’t exactly keep track anymore, considering I’m nearing 5,500… and my appearance changes so often, I get confused over myself all the time…

“Um… I’m not so sure. More than 5,000 years, that’s for sure, but-”

“**FIVE THOUSAND?!**” She screamed. “R-Riku, that’s… holy shit… But you look like you’re… 15!” I frowned.

“_Yeah, don’t remind me._” I couldn’t wait until I finally got to _that_ age in this body’s cycle. Being a teenager sucks. It really does. “I don’t really understand that, you know? A ton of my Demigod friends are older than me, but they look so young… maybe it’s the appeal, or something. To make immortal people look nice and to keep that… freshness?” I shivered, looking back up to the sky.

“W-Well… god, that’s so _weird_...” Thomas seemed to try to wrap his head around it. The elevator dinged, and we were on our floor.

My room was at the end of the hall, with the two General’s rooms neighboring my own. I gave Thomas and Jess their own bedrooms, both on opposite sides of each other. Thomas immediately crashed into his bed, passing out as soon as he hit the bedsheet.

Jess, however… she just sat at the end of her bed, looking at me like she had something to say. I came into her room and sat on the edge of the dresser in front of the bed.

“Need something?” I asked her. Jess looked down at the ground, then she looked back to me.

“Riku, you’re the Demigod of War, r-right?” I nodded slowly. “You… you have to train us!” She blurted out.

I paused. What?

“Seriously?” I grinned. “_Me?_ Jess, are you sure?” She nodded.

“Y-Yeah! Rhys had attempted to have some of his Commanders train us, but that was a bust! Riku, you’re a _Demigod_ of fighting. You’d be the perfect trainer for Tom and me! Plus, we’re the same element!” She held up her hand, snapping. I could see small flames attempt to ignite in her palm. “You know what I mean… But c’mon!”

I thought for a moment. These two would _die_ under me coaching them. The last time I had tried training an Elementalist… well, that was… a long time ago.

But… seeing Jess’s face… she wouldn’t take no for an answer.

I sighed, reluctantly. “Alright.” Jess beamed at me. “But! My training isn’t any run-of-the-mill bootcamp. Don’t come crying to me if you two get your asses whooped.”

“Your threats don’t scare me, Riku. I don’t know about Thomas, though.”

“Oh well. You’re the one who dragged him into this anyways.” She shot me a look. “But uh… you two seem beat. Take a rest, then take a shower. Training starts tomorrow.” Jess blindly saluted me.

_’Funny, this morning you hated all the pointless training, yet now you’re happy?’_

Eh, when you’re the one pushing people to their absolute limits… It’s a whole lot more exciting.

Thank god for coincidences. My day seemed to be a whole lot better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Riku's just a big softie for her friends


	22. Sunburns and emotional trauma

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thomas and Jess finally get their training day with Riku.

As I was getting dressed in the clothes we loaned from some of the other soldiers here, I could feel my brother glaring daggers at me. I sighed.

“Whaat?” I rolled my eyes. He had his arms crossed, and he had refused to talk to me all of this morning since I told him. “C’mon, dude… this is Riku we’re talking about, not some stranger…”

“_That’s not the point!_” He finally spoke. “I’m tired, Jess! Why are we doing this? I want to find a way home, not kill myself with all this training!”

“I know, I want to go home too, but mom is _god knows where_ right now. I tried calling her 15 times every day, and she hasn’t answered since. So for right now… our best bet is to stay with Riku. She seems to know what she’s doing, and I trust her to help us. Plus… from what I heard, your attempt at using your powers yesterday failed miserably.” He glared at me. I couldn’t help but smile. “What better person to learn to control our powers than the best of the best?”

“M-My powers did NOT fail! Nuh-uh, they didn’t… it was very triumphant… and _cool…_ Besides, you were too busy being unconscious! How could you know what happened?”

“You told me about it before passing out.”

“No I did not!”

“Did too.”

“N-No!”

“Yup~!”

“W-WHATEVER, JESS! STOP HARASSING ME!” Thomas stood up from the bed, and stormed off towards the door, his face all red and embarrassed. “You can go and tell Riku to count me out! I don’t want any part of this, you hear me? NONE!” He threw the door open, ready to angrily speed walk away to his room.

Riku stood in the doorway, arms crossed. Thomas stopped and skid to a halt. “O-Oh! Hey, Riku! Long time no see, heh…” He scratched the back of his head.

Riku seemed to be wearing a very over-the-top uniform, a blue overcoat which had the sleeves cut off at the middle of each arm, exposing a layer of bandaging. A red, flowy yet beaten up and dirty scarf was wrapped around her neck. I wondered how she wasn’t dying in all that clothing.

I saw a tint reflecting at me from her right arm. And that’s when I remembered.

She’s not just my friend anymore. She’s a _Demigod_. You know, that one mythical being you read about in stories. So the myths were real. She really did melt down a sword to make herself a mold of her own arm.

Jesus… that’s hardcore, man… I mean, in the time I knew he she was very drawn back and kinda hot-headed… but damn, this was too awesome.

“Mornin’. Did you two head down to the mess hall to get some grub yet?” Thomas and I both looked at each other.

“Uh… we don’t exactly know where that is, Riku…” Thomas told her. She just sighed.

“I gave you both a map of this place yesterday. Floor 13. Right wing. You can’t miss it. Like, at all. The entire castle goes down there for breakfast at the exact same time.”

“Riku, you seriously expect _us_ to get the memo? It’s almost like you don’t even know us or anything…” I smirked. She only rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, okay. C’mon, you two. I had some of the chefs pack us some food for today’s training, so you’ll live without breakfast.” She patted her cooler bag. “And you two better be ready… this is only the _beginning_.” Thomas hesitated for a brief moment. He seemed uncomfortable with the whole training idea from the start, but Riku seemed like she wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

Plus, things would be so stale if it was just me and Riku. Having a partner is always nice.

“Only the beginning, huh? That implies that we’ll survive your training today, legendary _Everheart._” I finally finished tying my hair into a low ponytail, walking towards the door.

“If you keep pushing me, maybe you _won’t_ survive... Come on, we’re going. Everyone have everything they need?” She looked at me, then to Tom. She raised an eyebrow at Tom. “You look ready to pass out, red-head…”

“I-It’s just… I’m nervous, Riku… Can we… postpone this? Something like that? I just don’t know if I want to do this.”

“Oh, come on, Thomas! You know me, I wouldn’t let you guys die or anything… it’s all just talk. Plus, you wouldn’t know until you tried it! You two need some _serious_ two-on-one training if you want to catch up with the Council.” She smirked. “I mean, messing up yesterday, don’t you _want_ a chance to control your power?” Thomas scoffed, face red again. Riku’s smirk turned devilish.

“H-HOW DID YOU KNOW? WHY DOES EVERYONE KNOW??” Thomas yelled. Riku and I both laughed.

“I heard it from the guards who brought you in. They watched your little scene from a mile away before they intervened. Pretty funny, Tom.”

“Since when were you the one to be so cocky, huh Riku? It’s like you’re a new person or something!” He complained.

Riku only shrugged. “I’m in my element, Tom. Don’t blame me.”

Thomas crossed his arms. “I thought no one saw that… urgh…”

“Trust me though, I have my embarrassing moments too. Like, this one time where I set my house on fire after I stubbed my toe… powers are hard to master, but I can help. We still have some time before Rhys makes his move… I think…” She still seemed hesitant over it. Funny, a Demigod of War being hesitant about a war. “Soo… whaddya say, Tommy? Wanna join me and Jess for a training day?” Riku brought to thumbs up, smiling brightly. I turned to Tom, smiling as well.

He sighed in defeat. “Fine. But I’m still sore over yesterday. We had to run a bunch of miles through a forest, and my joints are achy.”

“Woot woot! Hell yeah, let’s get going then!” Riku turned towards the elevator, and we both followed. “Oh, but trust me… you’ll be running a whole lot more today than you ever had in your life, red-heads…” I could hear her mutter behind our backs, still loud enough to hear.

Riku brought us out to this massive loading bay. Soldiers seemed to be moving around left and right, it was so chaotic, but it reminded me a whole lot of the Resistance, but upscaled. It was like an airforce bay, but instead of planes it was massive multicolored, scaly dragons. Each one seemed to be fit just for aerial combat, shining metal armor coated on their bodies.

I could see where this was going.

“A-Are you summoning… a dragon, Riku?” I asked her. She nodded. I could hear Thomas loudly gulp beside me. If he were wearing a suit of armor, he’d be so loud it’d be passable for a morning alarm.

Thomas already _hated_ dragons. He thought that lizards and snakes were scary enough, but massive lizards that could _fly_ and _shoot fire_ were ten times worse. It combined his two worst fears. Big lizards, and heights. I don’t know where he got his fear of lizards from, but I could probably trace it back to my old pet iguana that liked to bite Thomas whenever he came near it.

Heights were just a common thing. But Thomas, he looked pale.

“U-Uhm… R-Riku, c-c-can we-”

“Yeah yeah, Tommy. I _know_ you’re not excited, but it’s a tradition to own a dragon here. Plus, the view is pretty nice from high up. If you want to master your powers, you _have_ to learn how to face your fears. It’s either we simply fly there on my dragon, or we’ll deal with your fear of heights by taking you skydiving. Your choice.” Thomas seemed to be contemplating his life as he looked down at his hands. He gulped hard once more, then nodded.

“O-Okay… Y-Yeah, that’s fine… We’re fine…”

“Again, Thomas… I’m not going to let you fall or die. I won’t let that happen. If I do, that’s on _me_.” We finally stopped at the edge of the opening, right by where the dragons flew in and out.

Riku whistled loudly, piercing both my brother and I’s ears. Shortly after, it was followed by an echoing roar, that shook the trees below.

A massive, red dragon swooped up, and landed right in the bay. The thing seemed easily more distinct between all the military dragons, being ten feet taller. It was lined in scars that cracked through its scales. Every time it breathed out, smoke came billowing out through its nostrils. The sight of it sent a chill down my spine.

Now Thomas… poor guy, I couldn’t believe he hadn’t passed out from total fear yet.

I looked at it closer. It looked a lot like that one dragon from the stories…

“Holy shit, Riku… is that друг? The legendary dragon that destroyed entire villages with a smoky breath?!” I thought that one was a myth! Well, I guess everything here _was_ a myth anyways…

“Ha… yeah, that’s his name… друг is hard to pronounce, so I just call him Rocko. He seems to like that one better.”

The dragon lowered itself, and I climbed on. Riku instructed me and Thomas to sit on the saddle while she just sat close to друг’s neck. She muttered something about the saddle being ‘the hot seat’ while she carried my brother onto the dragon.

He clung to me, hands shaking as the dragon started to turn towards the exit.

“Why did I agree to this? I could’ve stayed home, eating junk food and watching TV… why me? Why did I have to do this, I’m stupid, this is crazy…” He continued to hyperventilate as the dragon reached the edge of the cliff once more. Riku took the reins, and I swear I could feel Thomas crying. I looked back to him, smiling.

“Don’t worry dude! Just think of it as a very big rollercoaster. We’ll be there in no time.” I reassured him. Although, he couldn’t really hear me while he continued to mutter to himself.

“Alright, hang on tight… this may get a bit bumpy, who knows.”

“God, I’m crazy, I have to get off, Ihavetogetoff-”

“HERE WE GO!” Riku shouted at the top of her lungs. As soon as the dragon started to fall, Thomas burst my eardrums. I couldn’t even focus on the fact that we were plummeting to the ground.

The dragon suddenly swooped up, and we were stable. Although, I couldn’t hear at all. Riku seemed to be laughed, and Thomas, crying.

My hearing seemed to come back after about ten minutes, but all I could hear was the air whistling past my face. I had taken the time to focus on the world below us, the mountains, the small villages, the cities… it was all so unique.

This… was the Ancient Islands. The lands I had been studying for a mythology class. And my friend was the Everheart. A hero I had been studying in that class. And I am the Master of Fire. A line of descendants I had been studying. In my mythology class.

It all seemed so unreal. I didn’t know if I was put into a coma or something.

But the feeling of my legs aching, my headache growing, the freezing cold winds sharply blowing past me… it didn’t feel like a dream, it felt like everything else in my life. The same. Just a bit more crazy.

We soon enough landed, right in the middle of a scorching hot desert. The temperature differences were insane, from being up in the air, to low on the ground…

I was already sweating up a storm. Riku had taken off her uniform, and she carefully unwrapped her bandages off her arms and looked up to the sky with a squint.

The air around us was so dry, I needed a drink of water. I took a swig of one of the water bottles.

Thomas shakily got off the dragon, and he sat down against the sand.

Riku immediately turned to Thomas. “Alright, Tom. You’re training starts here.” She set down the cooler, handing him a granola bar and a water bottle.

“Th-The sun’s so bright out here… I’m gonna burn up. Hey, can I get some… oh! H-Here it is!” He reached for the sunscreen. Riku slapped his hand away.

“The Master of the Sun absolutely _does not_ need some lotion to protect himself from his own element, Thomas.”

Thomas immediately started going off defensively. “What?! Riku, y-you know I don’t tan! Plus, skin cancer is _no_joke!”

“Yeah, it isn’t, but Thomas… you are an Elementalist. You don’t need some silly protection from something that you can control. Speaking of… take your shirt off.”

“WH-WHAT? RIKU!!” Thomas held his shirt. Riku snickered.

“I don’t mean it like that, ginger boy… You need to learn how to use your own element in situations like this. Right now, the sun is the strongest and most intense. And _you_ are someone that can control the sun.” She pointed her finger directly into Thomas’s chest. “You have two hours out here while your sister and I go off to the nearby volcano to train. Capiche?”

“IF I WAS JUST GOING TO BE LEFT OUT TO DIE OF HEAT EXHAUSTION, THEN WHAT WAS THE POINT OF ME COMING?? I-I DON’T UNDERSTAND WHAT I’M LEARNING HERE, RIKU!”

“What you are learning… is how to use your powers when the time is right. When you’re put under pressure, and when you’re exhausted. Shirt.” She held out her hand. Thomas shakily sighed as he took off his shirt and wordlessly put it in Riku’s hand. “Thanks. I gave you a granola bar, and a single bottle of water. Use it wisely. Oh, and don’t worry about any of Rhys’s goons coming for ya. I ordered some of the guards to set up a perimeter for your 1st training session.”

Thomas didn’t say anything, only sitting cross-legged in the sand. He faced away from Riku and I.

“We should… probably get moving, huh?” I whispered to Riku. she nodded, and we boarded друг, leaving Thomas to sulk in the sand. He seemed really, _really_ upset. Getting peer-pressured into training, flying on two of your worst fears, then getting dumped in the dry desert didn’t seem _fun_.

“Oh and uh… one more thing, Tommy. I better not see a _single_ red spot on your skin. No sun burns.” That final nail in the coffin made him glare at Riku, only before hopelessly crumbling.

“Shoot…” He sighed. “F-Fine… I’ll think of something.”

“Damn, got him so mad he _almost_ swore. So close.” She joked. “Anyways, see ya, Falkner! And most importantly, _don’t die!_”

With that, we flew off into the sky. The air whistled past us once more. This time, I could hear more fully. It felt like a rocket taking off as we ascended, друг going straight upwards made me hang on to the saddle’s railings.

I looked ahead, at Riku. _The Everheart_. I still didn’t believe it was real.

Right! The questions. We’re not doing anything right now, right?

“Hey, Riku…” I yelled at her. She looked back towards me.

“Yeah? What’s up?” She screamed back. I stopped for a moment. Are you _really_ about to ask your friend this?

“Is the legends true? A-About your arm!” She looked down at the metal, which reflected in the sunlight. “Did you really melt down your own sword to rebuild your arm?”

“U-Uhm, well… I mean, it’s just a prosthetic nowadays. But I mean… back then, yeah.” She scratched the back of her head. “Honestly, most of those ‘stories’ about me are super exaggerated. I don’t see the big fuss over being… me. How many questions are you going to ask me anyways?”

“What? Riku, you’re _god knows how old_, a war-hero, and a badass all in one! You _know_ how much I liked the big hero stories in class! And I’m going to be asking _a ton_ of questions. This is my one chance to talk to an _actual_Demigod, Riku!”

She rolled her eyes. “I don’t like my praises being sung all that much… I hear it wayy too often, it’s tiring… I mean, why do you _think_ I went to being myself back in school?”

“C’mon, Everheart! This is my big moment, can I at least ask you a _few_ questions?” I looked on eagerly.

She shook her head, defeated. “Fine. I guess I can answer a _few_ questions for you, Jess. It’ll be about ten minutes before we get there anyways, so…” She turned around, facing me on the dragon. “Ask away.”

I took a deep breath in, and fired away.

“Did you _really_ fight the Demigod of Nightmares single handedly?”

“I think I did. That was a very, _very_ long time ago. Dude’s a dick.”

“What’s your opinion on the Elementalists?”

“Right now? They’re all shitheads. I hope we can go back to the way they used to be. Real fighters.”

“Ever been to space?”

“Nope.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Who is the Elementalist of Poison?”

She paused a bit for that one, looking a bit annoyed. “No one. I don’t _know_ a Poison Elementalist.”

“A-Alrighty. Hmmm… worst war?”

“The Stargalaxan one. Or the first one. Any war.”

“Do you like fighting?”

“No.”

“WHAT? But you’re-”

“Doesn’t matter. Just because _I’m good_ at fighting doesn’t mean I like it.”

“What’s your deal with Rhys?”

“_Excuse me?_”

“Rhys! You two seem like you had history.”

Riku seemed really irritated. She turned around and gripped the reins on друг, frowning. “No more questions. QnA’s over.”

“Too personal?”

“No! I just think that’s a shitty question.”

“One more, please?”

“NO.”

“_Please?_”

“It BETTER not be anything personal, Jess. Two strikes down already. Last straw.”

“A-Alright. I’m sure this isn’t THAT personal, since no one really knows the story behind it. It’s probably a myth anyways.”

“Spill it.”

“So um… Did you ever know… the Demigod of Destruction?”

She went deathly silent.

The only thing between us was the howling wind. I noticed her grip on the reins tightened.

“Since… you know…” I continued. “I just… the stories of you two make no sense. Destruction doesn’t really exist, so how do the stories exis-”

We suddenly dropped.

Друг stopped flying, and we spiraled down to a snowy mountain.

I almost fell off the dragon, but I quickly grabbed a hold of the saddle as we plummeted.

Almost as soon as we fell, друг went stable again. The air was _freezing_. Riku held a flame in her palm. She didn’t turn around.

I tried summoning a flame too. It failed.

“Off. _Now._” She snapped at me. I gulped.

“W-Was it… something I said?”

“This is your training grounds. Get off my dragon.”

“B-But… we’re middair, how can-” Riku kicked her foot back to a handle on the saddle, loosening it. A ladder suddenly spiraled down and hit the snow.

“Climb down.”

I did so without saying a single word. I continued to shake. The sharp winds pierced through me. My ears started aching. My limbs froze up. As I was climbing down the ladder, in the distance, I could hear the mighty roar of what I presumed to be a wild dragon.

My tennis shoes hit the snowy hill. I looked up to Riku and her dragon. She wouldn’t meet my eyes.

“This is Dragoncast Peak. A dragon breeding ground. Bring me a dragon. Tamed or dead. I don’t care.”

My facial expression dropped. A dragon. _A DRAGON_? Scaly beasts that are 30 feet long. That can scorch me dead.

I’m dead. I’m so dead.

“H-How?”

“I don’t care _how_. Just do it. You’re a Master of Fire, figure it out or you’ll die. That’s how I learned.”

“R-Riku.”

“That is _General Everheart_ to you, Falkner.” She looked up at the sky. She pulled on the reins, and her dragon started flapping his wings upwards.

She was leaving. She was really leaving.

“One more catch. If you fail to bring it back by the end of the day, our training is through. Do you understand me?”

“E-Everheart, this is-”

“Do. you. _Understand. me._” She shook my core with those words. A massive wave of anxiety and panic swept through me. I fell. I’m going to die here. I’m going to die.

“Y-Yes.” Is all I could manage.

“I’ll check back on you in five hours. And Jessie...” She finally looked down at me, with cold, almost dead eyes.

“_Never ask me that question again._”

Rocko pushed a massive gust of air, knocking me down to the ground fully. The fear left, and I watched as she flew off.

The roars of untamed, wild dragons continued to echo through my head.

Was it… something I said?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FUCK YEAH IT WAS SOMETHING YOU SAID


	23. The main villain was Ricecum all along

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elliot's gotten settled in the Void.

I was currently in a tug of war fight with a ‘fallen’ for his oddly stained brown rag. The fallen hissed at me. I don’t know how. They don’t have a tongue. Or muscles.

I made the mistake of looking into their hollow eye socket. A black, long centipede crawled out. Another followed. And then a spider. Their little legs made a faint _clicking_ noise on their skull.

I kicked them right in their dusty ribcage, sending them flying back. I quickly grabbed the rag from off the concrete floor and booked it as fast as I could.

My legs felt ready to give out, and the soft yet annoying buzz in my ears continued steadily. I shivered, putting the somewhat _damp_ rag over my shoulders.

It was a little of a ways from my camp.

After being here for… time doesn’t really exist here. Only _Riku_ knows how long I’ve been down here.

I’ve been gathering scraps and waste from what I’ve now named the ‘fallen.’ Skeletons who acted like zombies. They were either eaten up and spit out by a terrifying Void Monster I had not discovered, or they had eventually lost hope and jumped into the sludge that surrounded the ruins. They had things I needed on them. Clothes. Weapons. Supplies. Anything I could scavenge.

Food… well, it’s a treat when I find any sort of food on the fallen, expired or not. I don’t have many options, and food poisoning isn’t scary in the grand scheme of things.

My diet normally composed of… _bugs_...

I hate myself.

I started climbing up the watchtower, where my main ‘camp’ was. Right at the top, I could see a dim fire. I learned how to make a fire from… you know what? It’s a touchy topic for all of us.

I set the rag right next to my stolen clothing pile, and I laid down right by my fire.

The view from here was certainly something. I wish it was something more.

Everything was grey and black, always so dark. After weeks of wandering the canyons, I just thought of it to be some shadow realm.

I always look up at the murky skies. It almost seemed endless, but I knew there was a barrier somewhere there.

Every now and then I’d see flashes of white light in the sky, and something would fall, like it was being consumed by the void itself.

I had considered trying to catch one of those flashes of light all the way up there, but I pitted against it. Who knows where I could land.

At least… I wasn’t going to get bored. I could easily just kill myself… but I don’t want to consider it either way. I’ve never been one to be depressed.

But…

_Who am I?_

I never considered asking myself that. Have I ever just… stopped? _Ever?_

What am I? What is my story, what is my purpose?

Who knew that living in a hate-filled, negative pit would make me existential of myself.

I squinted at the hole-filled, rusty ceiling of this ruined watchtower.

That’s when I realized.

_I don’t have a purpose._

Am… Am I just supposed to be the sidekick to a far greater protagonist? The love interest to some anti-hero?

I sound so… cliche. Boring. Maybe that’s why she rejected me. Or, moreso, just ignored me.

I don’t even have a personality. What defines me?

Urgh… I have years to think about this. _Not now_. I’m still emotionally vulnerable. Spare me.

I rolled my eyes, and then rolled over, looking at the fire.

My eyes refused to close. I just wasn’t tired. _Ever._

The fire just cackled and burned.

It was the only light here. My only sense of warmth and comfort. I wanted to reach out and touch it. That’s stupid. I can’t touch it. Get too close and it’ll scorch me.

This is pointless. Roll around all you’d like, X317. Dread it. Run from it. Destiny still arrives. That destiny… BEING MORE POINTLESS LOATHING, I SWEAR TO GOD.

I felt like a moody teenager.

You know what? No more self-loathing. I have to be somewhat productive, right?

I had found this journal on a fallen, slightly burned and charred, but still readable. Maybe I could get some sort of kick out of other people’s lives. Like a book, except much more dreadful considering that I could die of whatever the author died of any second.

Problem was, the language they wrote in was _not_ English nor Stargalaxan.

So… pretty hard to read. I wasn’t going to learn a new language now. Because I was the only sane one here. Who would I learn a new language from?

As I flipped through page after _page_ of a life story I’d never be able to learn, I came across… a… drawing. I smiled. What a skilled artist. Shame he had to go and _DIE_.

There were two figures, and a bunch of small ones, all fallen. All skeletons. Was this like… what was this?

My mind wandered to a couple of answers. Either it was some form of a hieroglyphic, a prophecy of some sort, or just a nice drawing of the fallen.

Holy shit, was that Bog? Demigod of Hate?

Hate is a… weird guy, honestly. I’ve met him like once, so I don’t really know him all that much, but he fights the Demigod duo of Health and Love, the angel-devil combo. A lot of people hate him… and he really likes it.

His body is completely composed of toxic, gooey sludge that really, really smelled bad. Apparently behind it is a metallic robot, or at least the shell of one. He likes causing people misery, killing people, the likes.

One of the figures in the center of the page, was a very droopy looking man with no features aside from being dark purple. Like… the color of the sludge…

Guess I wasn’t the only Demigod who’s been here, huh?

He must’ve been like, _created_ here or something. It made a lot of sense either way. Demigods that have been here before… What, is this a pattern? Please don’t tell me I’m going to come walking out of here looking like a swamp monster.

I’ve found multiple journals just like this one… Drawings of two beings, and the skeleton army. I had no clue what it meant. I wanted to know. There was history to be had here, and if I wanted to keep myself not bored, why not get invested in my new home’s rich backstory?

I don’t want to lose hope just yet. I can’t just give up. If I was patient with _her_ for 5,000 years… then this is _nothing._

I delicately scanned through _every_ scavenged journal I had. All written in chicken scratch.

Maybe I was just in… hell. I died, and this is my purgatory. Being permanently stuck with no answers and more questions.

I tossed the journal in the pile of random shit I had.

Okay, Ell. No need to get too worked up. Just… relax. There’s no rush. It’s not like you’re going anywhere.

This is my time to take a break from Riku. Anything _but_ her. So I have to act like it. I need to figure myself out. Hopefully not die.

I sat back against the stone walls of the watchtower. Let’s just… refresh ourselves. What’s happened this month?

I was swallowed up by the void after a failed confession to a serial liar. Since then, I’ve adapted to the life of this completely new world. People don’t exist. Societies don’t exist. You fend for yourself here.

The world is a bleak version of our reality. Nothing really grows here, and no wildlife scampers around. At least, not to my knowledge. The only ‘alive’ things I’ve seen here are insects and the fallen. People who mysteriously died trying to survive here, the thing left is their rotted skeletal corpse, struggling to find something that resembles its old self.

Everything is a dull grey or black. Cold. Like, freezing cold. I’m constantly battling for warmth.

It seems as if this world swallows up people from their homes at random. The white flashes of light indicate that.

Ruins are scattered around the flat land that I’ve named the… Ruins. I’m not really that creative. They seem to be dated around centuries old. Maybe even older than myself. Each structure is broken, some chunk of it completely missing. Normally made out of stone, but sometimes I see some metallic, rustic buildings that have holes cut through their ceilings.

Within the center of the ruins is a castle, in ruin as well. It’s where the most sludge was, and the place is swarming with Fallen, so I tend to stay away. Plus… I get that feeling of dread every time I get close.

The ruins attract the Fallen, so I tend to stay on the outskirts, where the only things that exist are a couple watchtowers and stone monuments. Even _with_ my powers, the Fallen in groups are extremely dangerous.

Speaking of powers… I can’t teleport. At all. Normally, I could open some form of a portal for myself and others that would take me through this dark room, and then to the spot I want to get to. But it just… doesn’t seem to work. No matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to open a portal. Shame, that was the only power I ever really needed.

I’ve been trying some of my other powers, but those… _exhaust me_. I don’t understand it, normally my magic isn’t so strenuous. I feel like there’s a massive weight crushing me here. It’s painful to even summon a simple explosion, which should be something that’s easy. All I have to do is think about it, and _BOOM!_ The nearby toaster implodes. But here? I can’t even make a pebble turn to dust.

Some of my traits as a Stargalaxan physically hurt me. I can’t lift anything by thinking about it. I get hungry so often. I can’t float. I hate it.

Maybe this really _was_ my purgatory. Maybe I already am dead.

I was jolted awake by a distant _THUD!_ It shook my tower, causing a few of my belongings to topple over. Fuck. What now?

I looked down at whatever just shook my tower. Whatever just shook my tower looked up at me.

I rolled my eyes. Another fallen. Great.

I picked up one of the stone loose stone bricks that was a part of my tower, and I dropped it directly onto the skeleton’s head. It crumbled instantly.

When I climbed down to pick up his scraps, I noticed that his bones were still rattling. His jaw moved in an up and down fashion. I picked up the skull. It almost felt like he was looking at me.

“What? You know I had to do it to you.” He only moved his jaw to bite me. “Hey, don’t do that.” I set the poor guy down, and picked up everything he owned. Some ragged jeans, a stained _Supreme_ shirt, and a small notebook. Huh. Never thought him to be the ‘flexing’ type.

I flipped through his notebook…

English. Full, distinguishable English.

_Score._

“Hey, would you look at that! Thanks, dude. I’ve got a new journal to read.” I picked up his equipment and shoved it under my arm.

Looking down at the skull… it didn’t stop moving. His hand crawled around, already connecting back with his shoulder blade and rib cage. Any more, and he’d be complete. I grabbed the skull.

“You and I seem to be pretty alone, huh? One might even say…”

“_You’re bonely_.”

…

…..

_……_

I gagged. “God, that was… _awful._ So, _so_ awful. I’m sorry, little dude. Let’s just… let’s just go.”

I took the skull up to my spot on the tower, placing him on top of the pile of random shit.

“Well, at least we’re not alone anymore, you and I. I am never going to make a pun ever again. Jesus christ.” I shook my head, looking to the skull. He only moved his jaw a bit, but not enough to topple himself over. “If we’re gonna be spending our time here… Might as well introduce ourselves, right little buddy?”

Silence.

“I’m X317. My friends call me Elliot, though. And you?”

More silence.

“...I’ll just call you…” I looked down at his Supreme shirt. “...Rice. O-Or maybe, Paul? Average white teen?”

…

“Rice works. Aaanyways, Rice… Nice diary you have here. Mind if I read it?”

…….

“Cool.”

Page 1 just talked about how many views he’d get for being here. And a bunch of brainstormed ideas about… challenges? _I SPENT 24 HOURS IN THE VOID?? (I ALMOST DIED)(NOT CLICKBAIT)_.

Big skip.

Page 2… Skeletons. A bunch of shitty doodles of the fallen.

Page… 3… The Lost One’s Society.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wonder if Ricegum would clickbait life in the void


	24. Britney Spears makes Austin lose his cool

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhys decides to take a big leap forward and publicly announce his Resistance.

“Come now. And… keep your voice down. You don’t know what trouble could be here at any moment.” Rhys and our squadron had donned the customary ‘stealth’ uniforms as we journeyed through the underground sewage catacombs below the city. The uniforms were just a lot of black clothing. We looked like Goth Teenagers.

I just slipped on a completely black hoodie I hadn’t worn since my mortal years, and a black beanie.

Matthias’s outfit was much more thought out, with a full stealth outfit covering his entire body besides his metal exterior, which he had spray-painted black. He wore a ski-mask with goggles, and black fingerless gloves. He looked like an edgy spiderman. I teased him about it and he told me off for being so unoriginal.

Jay’s was much more of a disguise than a stealth uniform. She was wearing a blue dress, and a flashy white necklace laced with pearls. A baby-blue, silk sashe was tied around her waist, and a bow was formed in the back. Her hair was tied up into a bun. Rhys had planned her outfit to be that of a news reporter, just in case she was compromised. Smart.

Rhys had somehow found himself a black winter coat, and he tailored an eye symbol in grey on the back. Dude was blowing our cover for sure, but he stood with his cause proudly. I could respect that.

Lastly, we had… _him_... I can’t stand the guy. Even _if_ he rivaled the serial liar we were all against, the fact that he was a murderer didn’t quite stick with me. He didn’t need black clothing, because he was cloaked in a black smoke that pooled at his feet, twisting and turning about itself. I tried looking at him, in his host. He was completely translucent. Incorporeal. His white irises shone like little flashlights.

The catacombs were soggy, and very, _very_ dark. Every step we took in the murky puddles under our feet made a soft echo, so we treaded lightly.

I had loaded one of my strongest rifles, an Arctic Warfare Magnum and my singular revolver I dubbed the _Más vale maña que fuerza_. It’s long, I know. But it was special.

Rifles seemed to be better for ranged combat, and pistols, close. Each bullet was slathered in some of my strongest, lethal poison. It didn’t matter _where_ I hit you. You’d be dead in ten minutes either way. I was also armed with a couple more fun surprises, but those are supposed to be a surprise for a reason.

I also had a small hunting knife hidden in my hoodie’s front pocket. It had a toxic green tint to it. Almost like it was radioactive.

Rhys had taken us out on this stealth mission to finally start putting our plan into motion. His intel group had fished around with very old databases on the Ancient Islands, and they managed to dig up a fully 3D map layout of the underground sewage system of the biggest, most populated area the Council named Neo-Riot City. Lord.

The sewage system seems to be forgotten by all but the most homeless people, squatting in a place like this. Although, considering it was the city’s sewage lines, and how our big stunt caused our target to flee… we had to stay focused. Security has gone through the roof. Soldiers do their patrols, practically swarming the city. None of our usual intel could take one step in there. Eye symbols were completely outlawed. Rhys pulled a big power move by keeping that eye symbol on him.

Our plan was simple. We had already convinced them that Wisdom was on her way. And she _was_, no doubt about that. Where else had we gotten our immortality?

We were going to convince them that she’s already arrived. That’s she’s more than just some Demigod.

Ballsy, I know. But we _need_ to get them scared of us. Like a powerful Demigod was here to challenge Everheart and the Council. The Council’s will was easy to break. They’d piss their pants Everheart’s? She wouldn’t buy it, and even so, fighting her head on is like fighting a tank with a wooden twig. Rhys knew this. I knew this. _Everybody knew this._

The Government had what we hadn’t. Numbers. Numbers, and unwavering, dedicated training with every soldier in their arsenal. Not to mention, the economic support of a genius billionaire weapons designer.

Our group was based off a movement, and nothing more.

The people were too scared to revolt. That, and their hope in the Demigod of War, that she’d set things right. People rumored of her return, and it stung us. We relied on the help of the people, whose trust in their governors was already sour. With a strong ‘hero’ like her swooping in and restoring hope… the people didn’t seem to care for our union, our support. Why would they, when their new leader would save them?

We had a plan. Get that plan wrong, and we’d face death.

Rhys was a terrifyingly smart man. His plan was crafted over 1,000 years of loathing.

We were going to be sneaking into Neo-Riot City. Using our four’s combined power, we’d convince the entire city and the guards watching, that Rhys _was_ Wisdom.

I manned the position of taking out any intervening soldiers.

Matthias, our intel. He’d stay in the sewers and keep up with our progress using our earpieces and cameras.

JJ was in charge of setting up the _illusion_ of Rhys’s power. She’d create diversions, massive planted chaos, to convince people that Rhys was _that_ powerful. Her talent as a Demigod needed to shine. She’d use her brush, hidden in _his_ shadow, to make fake Wisdom Magic.

Him… well, he was in charge of creating mass panic in the soldiers and general reinforcement. He’d ensure the fact that we mean business. He was also in charge of keeping me and J in the shadows, so we wouldn’t be caught.

Some of our inside men were setting up cameras, pretending to be daily news reporters in Neo-Riot undercover. We needed our stunt to be broadcasted to anyone and everyone. Matthias had been constantly talking with them over earpiece, making sure each and every camera was directed towards where Rhys was going to make a stand.

And Rhys… well, Rhys was our actor.

We walked in complete silence for the duration of the journey to our pinpointed location. Shady characters passed us, eyeing us by their trash can fires as they struggled for warmth. Each person down here had their own firearm, but they didn’t dare mess with us. The way Jekyll presented himself… hell no.

Rhys had gone over our positions and exact orders several hundred times. This was it. _This was our big moment._

“What? No… Is anyone compromising the room?” Matthias said over his earpiece.

_”No no, it’s just… Captain, what if reinforcement is closer than we once thought?”_ A voice came over the headset.

Rhys only shook his head, smiling. “Of course not. I’ve been over this hundreds of times, and even if they _are_closer than we thought, Commander Jackson and Kaitlyn have this under control. You know the plan exactly.”

_”Y-Yes sir.”_

We continued walking in silence, coming up to a single opening that we had forged in our time studying the catacombs. The entrance into Neo-Riot City. Steel ladder rungs held onto the wall to our right, going up towards the entrance on the ceiling.

Rhys began climbing. All of us followed close behind.

Matthias sat down against the cold, concrete wall and pulled out a laptop, along with a bunch of other nerdy tech gear I had no time to care for. He gave me the thumbs up, and he started chatting with the operatives team on a different channel from our earpieces.

The opening lead into one of the city’s underground storage rooms, right underneath the building where Rhys was going to be broadcasted. It was very cramped, pipes lining the walls around us, boxes held on shelves that seemed to be going down an endless hallway.

Our intel groups had spent months figuring out their way into the Ancient Land’s TV networks, and now, it was going to be used to show people who they _really_ should be behind.

We were met by a group of three men in black clothing. The cameramen who were positioned in the broadcasting room. Each wore a name-tag that read the names of the New’s network cameramen, and they had the faces to match. We’d been using cloaking technology a lot more than I thought we would, although it required an extremely large amount of electricity to keep going.

The camera crew said a few words to Rhys I couldn’t quite make out.

The group followed them up to a nearby elevator. I pressed floor 9, and Rhys, 10. We managed to rent out a room by pretending to be the Ancient Island’s News Network: Saying we were broadcasting nothing but a report on the annual ‘pumpkin festival’.

Security cameras of the building were currently being fed looped video feed of empty hallways and rooms. Another team was in charge of throwing off security.

I glanced over to Rhys, who was being hooked up with one of our cloaking suits. A massive battery was shoved into his back pocket. His body flickered, and the next thing I knew, his face changed into that of a black-haired, slick and well toned man. His jacket had transformed into a blue suit, to match the reporter outfit.

Jay only seemed focused on holding her paintbrush in her hands. She studied it up and down, its every dent and gold lining. _A gift from Creation itself._ She took very good care of it.

The elevator was already ominously dark, considering Jekyll hogging up the place with his chillingly black mist. He winked at me in his host, and I rolled my eyes.

We were almost at floor nine. I shared a look with Fantasma-Face, and he nodded, snapping his fingers.

I could feel my body shrink as a slight wave of fear and anxiety washed over me. I had melted into a wall, and my hands felt cold. I looked down at them. Pitch black, perfect. The others looked at my 2D plastered self on the wall. Success. Jekyll had turned me into nothing but a shadow.

The elevator dinged, and I walked around the walls of the elevator to the entrance. Rhys gave me a nod, and off I went.

My shadow was the only noticeable part of me in the near silent business hallway, as I made no noise when I ran across the room. Jekyll’s shadow made me a part of the wall, meaning that I could latch to the ceilings, the floor… anywhere. It was best I hid in shadows as a shadow myself, but there was no shadow to hide in. Shadow, shadow, shadow. Dark.

My entire body felt chilly, as if a permanent wind was pressing lightly against my back, or a cold hand was on my shoulder.

“Alright, Windbag…” I pressed my hand against the mobile earpiece. “Best possible positioning?” My voice was nothing but a hissing whisper, no matter how hard I tried to yell.

_”Still looking, Spears…”_ I sighed. He nicknamed me that after a _certain_ song came out in 2003. _”End of the room, 912.”_ I started walking down the hall. _”Lights are off, and no scheduled meetings or the works, so you’ll be alright to hold off in there.”_

“Got it.” I shuffled my backpack around towards me, pulling out my Colt Python Revolver, the _Más vale maña que fuerza_, and loaded a round of tranquilizers specialized for my Python. I touched each one carefully, lacing them in DMHP, a non-deadly poison that’d make the opponent dizzy.

Each movement should’ve made some noise, yet all it was was a careless breeze. If anyone were to pass me, they would just dismiss the sound in their imagination.

Eventually, I had gotten to the end of the hallway, where a bland grey door was waiting. I opened it, coming into a boring meeting room, with a long brown table surrounded by swivel chairs. On my left, a blank TV with the DVD logo bouncing off the walls of said TV. My right, A window that lead out into the streets of Neo-Riot.

I looked down at the people walking up and down the streets like ants. Each person, slightly below average economically. I frowned. Typical.

They treated everyone like shit. No one cared for them. The only reason they stayed was because they had no where else to go, and Neo-Riot city provided clean water and food, for the return of the citizens keeping this city alive.

They didn’t know how to survive, because no one was there to support them. _I hated it_. Rhys was right. This place really is a nightmare.

Not that _she’d_ ever do anything about it.

_”Spears, you there?”_

“Yep.”

_”Great. News Team is currently on floor ten. I’ll tell you when they’re in position.”_

“Got it.”

I listened to nothing but the dull hum of the ventilation system doing its work, sitting down against the glass side of the wall.

I’d tell you I’m nervous, but honestly, I’m just nervous for Rhys. Sure, he seems like he’s got everything under control, but this was bold.

Make the people believe in a hero? Understandable, I’ve seen a few movies that did that well.

Scare the Council and it’s entire military force? Cocky, but doable. Those Elemental brats needed to be taught a lesson either way.

But… try to mock the Everheart? She’s not a joke. I’ve seen her past self in action, and it’s _not pretty_. If Riku is anything like Rhys has explained to me in countless pictures and creepy databases on her, then she doesn’t seem to be one to take a threat lightly.

But that feeling. I _want_ to see the look on her face as she’s insulted on national television. She deserved it, after… doing _that_. This is something I’ve wanted for hundreds of years.

“Hey, windbag…” I whispered through my mobile. “Windbag…”

_”Windbag to Britney, what’s up?”_ His voice was clearly serious. I could hear his keyboard quietly clicking through the line. Despite all of that, everything seemed under control, and he focused on whatever BS I was about to say.

I pressed my face against the glass, watching the Pumpkin Festival take place. “There was actually a festival? I thought that was made up.”

_”We… we planned our broadcast around the Festival. We needed a real thing to base off our report. You know this, Spears. Rhys specifically told you multiple times.”_

“Huh. I thought it was another elaborate scheme by Rhys, and those guys down there were our guys as like, planted actors.”

_”Too risky, and our ‘guys’ aren’t actors. How would we plan something like that?”_

“You know… just by making it happen. Rhys works his planning magic, and in a month we have a full festival.”

Matthias took a long sip of his coffee he held in his military thermos. _”Yeah. In a month. Riku’s already here, and the less time she has to get comfortable, the better.”_

“Alright, fine. That makes sense.”

_”Sure does for you, Brit.”_

“You’re one to talk, Spidey. At least my body didn’t get roboticized.”

_”Well, at least I still have good eyesight.”_

“No lo presiones, iPhone.” I could hear Matt exhale through his nose, almost laughing.

_”iPhone. That one’s new. But Austin…”_

“Yeah?”

_”Austin, don’t get me wrong… I love what you do, but don’t you know that you’re toxic?”_ Fucker. Little asshole was probably smirking like the bitch he was.

“Jódete! Que te folle un pez!” I hissed at him. He cracked up like a piece of shit. “¿No nada tienes mejor que hacer?”

_”Captain, you’re so toxic. I’m slippin’ under…”_ He sang through the line. _”Yes, of course. Don’t die of boredom on me, Riverra.”_

Silence once more. Matthias moved onto a different earpiece line.

I decided to take a seat at one of the swivel chairs. Whoever was last in this room had left the TV remote on the counter. I picked it up, watching it slowly melt into a rectangular shadow in my hand. The TV turned on, and I switched to the Neo-Riot News channel.

The bright, done-up reporter seemed to be pointing at some weather forecasts. I rolled my eyes. Whatever.

I fumbled with my earpiece, switching to the chaotic channel that was trying to get Rhys on air. I wish I knew what was happening in that room. Many voices scrambled to tell their exact movement. Some people were setting up the cameras we had positioned around our locations. Others were getting ready to hijack the network, but Rhys was still getting prepared.

_”After this, we’re going on air!”_ A voice spoke through the earpiece, above all the others. The weatherman was just about to finish. Any moment now.

“I could’ve _sworn_ I heard something back here, man!” A scratchy, high-pitched voice speak from outside the door, getting closer. I quickly shoved the remote on the table, jumping out of my seat and hiding into a shadow under the table. I cursed at myself. _I left the TV on._

I switched back to the silent earpiece channel I was on as they opened the door. Two pairs of feet.

“It’s just the TV.” A deeper voice responded back.

“Yeah, but still! Nobody has been in here all day!” They shuffled around the room. “You know the Council stationed us here over fear of the _movement_.”

“Movement?”

“Yeah, dude! Apparently, a group of rebels attacked and actually _brought down_ the Everheart!”

“_Really?_” He seemed extremely surprised at that.

“Word has it that they’re planning on taking over the city, so near everyone’s on edge.”

“Why the city?”

“I don’t know-”

_”And now, to Ripley Watkins in Neo-Riot city, covering the annual Pumpkin Festival of 2416!”_ Everyone in the room shifted their gaze to the TV, where the fake version of Ripley was standing with a very hotshot grin on his face. The two sat down at the table, watching the news.

“Thank you, Ms. Dynamite. The Pumpkin Festival is an annual event celebrated by all in Neo-Riot, and as you can see…” He pointed to the window, where the cameraman zoomed in on the outside. People were wearing pumpkins on their head. “It’s bigger than ever!”

There was a long silence. Ripley had his eyes closed. The camera focused back to him.

Rhys started chuckling quietly to himself. He gazed back to the camera, smiling lightly. “But… there are much more _important_, pressing matters currently.” He snapped his fingers, and the illusion faded, showing Rhys in his normal form.

_Genius._ Convincing people that he was just cloaking himself, like a Demigod would do.

The two guards that were sitting at the table immediately stood up, frantic. They seemed to be trying to figure out what to do.

A few seconds later, I could hear shouting from their walkie-talkies. “Y-Yes sir! Right away sir!” The scrawny one spoke, a hint of fear from his voice.

And just like that, I felt a surge of anxiety and worry crash into me. _Just as planned._ Rhys had Jekyll spread mass panic so the city would be confused. My body felt like shaking. I gulped down a lump of fear, and I walked into the tall man’s shadow.

_”Austin, they’re getting to it quicker than we thought...”_ Matthias was on the line, more focused than ever. I nodded.

I couldn’t leave the room with ratchet and clank still stammering around, and shooting them both would just look bad on Rhys’s part.

“What the hell is happening?” The burly one spoke. Chicken leg shrugged.

“T-The rebels hacked into the network! Look, dude!” He picked up the remote and switched channels. Rhys was still there. “Wh-What do we do?!”

“He’s obviously somewhere in Neo-Riot, but where?”

“I DON’T KNOW!” They just looked at each other, absolutely terrified. “God, I-I don’t know…” Little dude sat back down at the table, looking back up at the TV with wide eyes.

“My name is Rhys Allerton. I am the Demigod of Wisdom.” Rhys spoke over the TV. Skinny kid squeaked. “You see, I have been observing the Ancient Lands for _centuries_. Watching over each person, each struggle this city has faced… and I’ve decided that today is the day I’ve had _enough of it_. Yes, I am talking to you. The leaders of this city. The Council of Elementalists, and the newly returned Demigod of War, Riku Everheart.”

“Location?” The tall guy yelled into his walkie-talkie. “WE NEED A DAMN LOCATION ON THIS GUY! YES, HE’S TAKEN EVERY CHANNEL!” He looked up towards the TV. “He seems to be broadcasting from this building… but where?”

_Yeah. Where._

“It’s time to end this endless spiral of poverty and chaos in the first civilization. As a Demigod, I believe that the way the Council are currently governing is selfish. They don’t care for the people. So… I’m saying it here, and now. If I have to challenge the Council, and whatever they through at our Union, then so be it. I call for positive change in our home, not ignorance from those above us!”

I could hear the Pumpkin Festival’s speakers that ran up and down the streets boom with Rhys’s voice.

“Tenth floor, 1023!” Chicken leg finally yelled. They took off running, and I followed close behind. This was it. They loaded their rifles as they booked it down the hallway towards the stairs. I hid in the bigger guy’s shadow, trying to match his pace.

_”All security moving in on 1st position!”_ Matthias commanded loud and clear through the earpiece. _”Rivera, you’re up!”_

“You’ve scared the people for too long, Council of Elementalists.” Rhys shook the building. “You rely on a flimsy, broken trust of your people. I am _not_ afraid to take that right from you. Because you see… I dislike ignorant leaders. Your people do not believe in you anymore. And that trust… can be easily broken.”

They jumped up each metal flight of stairs, towards the 10th floor. Chicken leg slammed the door open, revealing at least two dozen other soldiers running down the hall. Each one was wearing the military’s traditional blue, carrying M4 Carbines upgraded with plasma technology.

I reached into my back pocket, pulling out a DMHP-laced smoke grenade. I focused on the hand that was holding it, desperately wishing for the effects to be immediate. As I slammed into the nearby wall, I yanked the safety pin out of the grenade and tossed it into the group of heavily armed troops.

As soon as the grenade left my fingertips, it became solid again, flying through the air and gaining its color. In their panic, the soldiers barely noticed me or the grenade.

The bomb exploded into several pieces, and everyone started to cough viciously. Idiots.

The room was near the end of the hall. If my magic was any good, the effects would kick in as soon as they started coughing.

I looked back to the group, whose leader stumbled to their knees, on the floor. _Magic works in wonderful ways._

Despite that, they continued to crawl towards the door at a turtle’s pace. Each seemed too fatigued to notice my shadow looming over them.

I looked out the window to find a large screen hung on one of the skyscrapers, advertising Rhys and his face.

“The people need someone who is reliable, and knows what is best for the people. And what I believe, is an equal opportunity for everyone! The ability for each and every single one of you to achieve what _you_ want is what _I_want. I, the Demigod of Wisdom… want to be the right leader for the people!”

He looked behind him, and he nodded. Then, he glanced back at the camera, and snapped his fingers. The screen went black for a few seconds.

They were in the process of transitioning. Jekyll would disguise them in shadow, then JJ would create an Ink clone of Rhys until he had made it to his next target.

It had been about a minute before the first guy made it to the room. I hid in his shadow, watching as he very weakly crashed into the room. There was only one camera working, broadcasting to the whole city, that the guards had been mind-fucked by Rhys. A puddle of ink was visible on the floor, quickly drying. I was careful to work my way through the shadows, to the camera and where it was standing. I pressed the big black button that said _off_.

“Don’t believe that a Demigod has come to bring salvation to this nation? Look no further than here, citizens of Neo-Riot City!” I ran up to the window, watching as Rhys positioned himself all the way across town on top of the building, by the main area of the Pumpkin Festival where _everyone_ was.

I grinned widely. Everything was going smoothly. Hell yeah.

The security guard that had opened the door for me started to snore. Passed out after a few minutes. I made sure of it.

I heard Matthias snicker from the mobile.

“What is it, Spiderman?” I spoke into the earpiece.

_“Oh… [Nothing…](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICjG8t_SnSg)” _Suddenly music started played from my earpiece.

“You little shit.” He cackled maniacally.

_“What? No Spanish quip?”_

“I’m too pissed for that, Matthias.” I made a note to personally _murder_ him once our campaign was over.

_”Yeah, yeah, boys…”_ JJ spoke in an exhausted whisper. Her body was cloaked in shadow as well. _”Austin, get over here before the cops come and snipe Rhys out of the air…”_

“Sure thing.” I sprinted out of the room. Matthias and JJ moved off my channel, but Matt _left_ the song on. I… can’t stand that guy…

My next location to get to was at the top of a building two blocks away. I had to act fast. My body was much lighter as a shadow, so I was able to run down and out of our first building rather quickly.

The streets were lined with commotion. Other reinforcement was barging their way through the crowds of people young and old, pumpkins on their heads. I was much faster than them, running the two blocks in about a minute. I wasn’t counting.

Gunshots rang out through the city, as people screamed. Rhys continued his speech.

JJ had decoyed _several_ Rhys clones throughout the city, so the guards wouldn’t know where to look next. Each one looked _exactly_ like Rhys, down to the eye-color. Each copy, moving the exact same as well.

I watched as a guard headshotted an Ink clone, and he threw his weapon down in anger. There were tens, maybe even hundreds of these things scattered across Neo-Riot city. It was like an infuriating Easter Egg hunt, and as soon as you found the egg, you’d try and stab it!

The building I entered was extremely quiet, people flocking to listen to the man speak on the TV. I stopped for a second to watch.

“I _am_ the Demigod of Wisdom. I have fooled and made a _mockery_ out of the Council’s simple bodyguards. Which one is me? Who knows. They came and tried to stop me, only to end up exhausted on the floor. So try to take me down, Council. I dare it.” He stomped his foot, and the buildings shook, ending up in a massive earthquake that had everyone screaming. I nearly tripped.

I continued up the several flights of stairs. Urgh. I’m not that out of shape, am I? I stumbled onto the floor, feeling as if I was hit by my own round of Dimethylheptylpyran.

Regardless, I sat myself up, loading up my Arctic Warfare Magnum, and setting it up with a round of DMHP elephant tranquilizers. I held each tranquilizer in my hand, focusing on making the effects _immediate_.

“The Council continues to hide behind the wall that is their military, not caring for the mess they’ve made. If the military is that easy to bring down, then our battle will be easy. But… to _you_, Riku Everheart. The hero that people have their hopes in restoring the city… They have their hopes in someone who doesn’t care as well. Nothing but a Council member, hiding behind _lies_. She is not the hero you all know and love.”

I pulled down the bipod and sat down, looking through my scope. No security near Rhys.

Suddenly, my form flickered, and my body could feel the heat coming off the sunlight above.

I raised an eyebrow. “Jekyll, what the hell was that about?”

He responded in a low grunt. _”This host is the most… unathletic little girl… I’ve ever met…”_ He huffed.

Shit. He couldn’t hold the entire city under mass panic _and_ hide me and JJ for much longer.

Am I really going to do this?

“Jekyll… bring me back when I give you the command.” I ordered him.

_”WH-WHAT? You idiot, you’ll be spotted immediately!”_ He hissed at me.

“Not if I hide well…” I ran down the stairs once more, one floor below, and into a room _I hoped_ was uninhabited. I sighed in relief as I opened the door. Success.

I cracked open the window, and set up my Arctic Warfare Magnum. “Alright, we’re good. Jekyll, let me go.”

With a sigh of relief, he released his shadow magic on me, and my body faded back into reality. I looked down at my body, which felt weak at the knees. Pins and needles hit my feet, and I had to grab onto the nearest wall to prevent myself from falling.

_”Stay hidden, you Poisonous Fool…”_ He switched lines, and was gone like that.

“Riku won’t fix a thing.” He continued. “She’ll toss the Island to the wayside, just like she’s done to people in the past. Riku Everheart is not the person you know. She is unstable, and manipulative. She’s just as bad as any other Elementali-”

Rhys cut out for a moment.

The TV shut off to black. What? What the hell?

“Now what?” I spoke softly into the mobile.

_”I-I don’t know! We had a clear connection, how could…”_

The TV cut back, and Rhys had an eyebrow raised. He didn’t say anything for a count of five.

“What was that?” He spoke.

Suddenly, the TV cut to something new.

Lines of slick, black tanks stood beside the Pumpkin Festival’s main stage, packed tightly together as if they were only there for show. A grey haired old man was on a holographic computer, typing away like a madman. And someone was at the microphone.

That was _the_ Doctor Ghatzbur typing away. And Riku Everheart was behind the mic.

“If you’re so _confident_, why don’t you try saying that to my face, Rhys?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm addicted to you
> 
> Don't you know that you're toxic?


	25. Riku is an emotional mess 2: electric boogaloo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riku tries to hunt down Rhys personally.

“If you’re so _confident_, why don’t you try saying that to my face, Rhys?”

The city was lined with orange-tinted street lights. Pumpkin guts littered the floor of our city, and thousands of people have gathered in the center square, pumpkins donned on their heads, to watch the main event.

Rhys and I having a TV battle.

The cameras were now on me. Dr. Ghatzbur gave me a small nod, and I smiled.

Little asshole thinks he can come into _my_ city, sway _my_ people, and mock me on TV while getting away with it? Bullshit.

“You say you’re a hero, but all you’ve done is scared this city half to death.” I spoke loud and clear into the microphone. The second Rocko flew me onto city grounds, I could feel it immediately. Jekyll was causing mass hysteria. I had no clue what he had brought me here for.

Now here he was, standing on one of the buildings, plastering his face around every screen he and his crew could get their grubby little mitts on.

Dr. Ghatzbur was currently fighting a digital battle with Rhys’s techies for who could get the spot on the TV. Lucky for me, Dr. Ghatzbur is an absolute genius.

God, the _NERVE_ of him… thinking he’s all high and mighty…

Suddenly, the big screen in front of us cut to Rhys, who looked very displeased. “There it is again,” He shook his head. “You’re nothing but a spiteful Demigod.”

“Why trust a liar?” I retaliated. “Who would believe someone who’s taken this city hostage by whatever armed forces you have?”

“I don’t hide behind a military force. I am here to relay a message of truth. Nothing has changed over the past few centuries, and nothing ever will.”

The screen before me flashed, then my hideous face was plastered right on it. I shook my head. _Stay focused._“Oh _yeah?_ And terrorism on your behalf _will_?”

“It’s certainly better than what _you’ve_ done.”

“My job is to protect the people! To be someone who keeps them safe from dangers like YOU!” I growled. “Enough petty drama, if you _wanna_ take over this country so badly, you’re gonna have to get through ME.”

The screen flickered yet again, and this time, Rhys seems to have hid himself and his camera crew inside on of the buildings he was hiding on. _I just had to figure out where._ “I don’t have to. You’re already destroying your own reputation by acting like a child.”

I looked back to Dr. Ghatzbur, holding up two fingers. He lifted his hands from the keyboard and walked right off the stage. I turned my attention back to the scummy man in the jacket. “If you’re so _confident_, Demigod of Wisdom, then how about you come out of your hiding place and fight me? A real leader is someone who is strong! And if you want to continue to be a coward, hiding behind a screen, then come out and _fight me_!”

“Funny thing, Ms. Everheart… a real leader does not need to resort to fighting to fix every conflict. Your righteous ‘duels’ and battles get people killed.” The room seemed to be something out of an office building.

“I have never used an act of terrorism against my country, Rhys. I fight for the _people_, and I push this country to fix the ways of its past.”

“Oh, really? And how are people supposed to believe you?” He raised an eyebrow, genuinely curious. _Says the guy who kidnapped three of my friends._ Which buildings had meeting rooms?

The right stub on my arm tingled. I lifted it, pulling up a full, 3D map of Neo-Riot City Each building glowed in a neon green tint, and the streets were bustling with movement. The building that Rhys was in was highlighted in a golden yellow.

Ghatzbur understood literally everything I did, the madman. He sent me the building that Rhys was being broadcast in. Luckily, Rhys didn’t see me inspecting the map. My face wasn’t the one on every screen.

I grabbed the microphone and moved forward. I had to keep him talking somehow.

The audience just stood and watched in awe as I pushed them all aside, running forward. It was around 5 blocks from the center square. Each pumpkin head was pointed in my direction while I sprinted ahead.

Just another five blocks. I contemplated using some of my magic to boost myself forward, but the pace I was going in was just fine.

The fear that kept this city on lockdown flickered, slowly deteriorating. Each step I took, the weight of dread slowly lifted off my shoulders.

He must’ve been pulling some _serious_ stunts to be this exhausted. And… he found a host?

I had guessed who his new host was, but I was afraid that I was right.

People were gathered in clusters around the massive commercial televisions placed on the skyscrapers. However, as they saw me speeding by, their attention was drawn away from the TV and to me.

“How are people supposed to believe _you?_” I continued jogging. “A person who has the _audacity_ to just show their face and expect people to believe?” The speakers that were placed around the city streets echoed my voice. It sounded so much higher pitched and _annoying_ than I’d originally thought.

“Please. The people of this city need _change_. And I am going to provide it. You do nothing but support a government that only hurts their country.” His voice spoke back out on the loudspeakers.

_I don’t support them. At all._ “Change? Your idea of change is hiding behind walls and just begging people to believe?” The building was directly in front of me, and I had to dodge a ton of traffic in order to get inside.

The entrance was a simple lobby, cushioned chairs and couches to my left and right, and a lobby desk with women in suits manning it in the front. Although, the crowd was drawn around the TV screens right behind them. As soon as I had caused commotion, the people snapped back at me, and their expression changed to that of shock.

“You haven’t changed a thing.” He continued on, unaware of my disappearance. “You’ll stand with a corrupt government, because they support you. You don’t even live in the Ancient Lands any longer.”

I had no time to wait for the elevator, and I sprinted my way up 10 flights of stairs like it was nothing. The grey walls went by like a flash of light.

It had seemed security had already tried getting up here, as about 2 dozen security guards lay on the ground, groaning. Their rifles lay on the ground, and each of them tried pushing themselves upwards, only to hopelessly fail.

The trail of bodies lead to a door. I pulled my right arm in towards me, and charged forwards.

The door came crashing down to the floor with a loud _thump!_ I smirked. Fucking idiot.

“Your reign of terror’s done, Rhys!” I looked up, only to find a camera pointed directly at me, and a stained pool of liquid on the floor before me. I frowned.

Of course. It’s not going to be _that easy_. Why would it ever be?

Cables were thrown about everywhere imaginable, and all of the nearby outlets were being used by some tech thing. I walked up to the main camera, and tried clicking it off, but it just wouldn’t come undone. I cursed as I just unplugged it.

So… now what?

“Barging in just like that, eh Everheart? Where’s your sense of direction?” He laughed.

I pulled the mic up to my face. “Stop hiding, you coward! Face me like a real leader would!”

“Again, fighting solves nothing. Ah, don’t burn the carpet now…” I looked down at my feet, which were starting to smoke. I stomped them. Gah! Don’t get distracted, you idiot… don’t let him win…

I only scowled. He had to be somewhere else. He _had to_.

My doubts arose. What if he had already fled to a disclosed location? What if Jekyll was hiding him in shadow? How would I ever know?

Jekyll’s fear enhancement flickered, and for a brief moment, all I felt was rage. He was getting tired. I just need to stall it, and he should be revealed at any second. I just need… more time…

My prosthetic vibrated once again, and I pulled my arm up, to reveal yet another building highlighted in the 3D map. *Really? Is this really just going to be some witch hunt?

Still, it doesn’t hurt to try.

Glancing outside the glass window to my right, I saw that the rooftop of the building below, with a 45 foot gap to accompany it.

Alright, let’s do this.

I summoned a short throwing sword and chucked it directly into the glass, shattering it instantly. Little shards of the glass fell onto the ground right on the carpet of wires.

I ran at full speed at the window gap, and jumped.

I kicked my feet once more while in the air above the busy street below, and my boots caught fire in a compact burst of flames, shooting me forward with enough momentum to crash down onto the building.

My body skid across the concrete floor, but I stopped myself quickly by summoning a knife and driving it hard into the ground.

I brushed myself off and continued running along, building by building. 5 more blocks…

His idea was to exhaust me, right? He was running all across town, making illusions of himself like he’s a knockoff Demigod of Trickery.

I didn’t buy it. There was _no way_ he was Wisdom. Wisdom herself would’ve told me that he was the new Wisdom, and if I could sense Jekyll’s magic, he must’ve been using it to fake his power.

That’s why he was running from me. Because he had no way to fight back.

I could see into the window of the next target. A figure in the form of Rhys started to melt away. _Typical_.

Even so, I wanted to check it out. Once more, I made a leap of fate, then jet-boosted my way across using a burst of fire, crashing straight through the glass. This time, I ended up toppling a camera over.

Nothing but the _same old room_. I shook my fist.

“You’re just making yourself look like a fool. Stumbling around like this. I never thought a Demigod as tactful such as yourself to be so dense.”

Am I just playing myself into his hands?

God, how dense am I? Really?

NO! Now you’re just repeating what he’s saying!

I growled as I unplugged the next camera by yanking the cord out of the outlet.

Should I keep going? What should I do?

My arm buzzed once more, but I didn’t bring it up to my face. Was this just playing into his hands? I was just exhausting myself with this! The scent of smoke filled my lungs, but I just drowned it out.

It was all just clones of him. I moved to the window again, only to see what appeared to be a clone of Rhys in the next building.

Stupid Rhys with his shitty rebellion, causing me to have to come and pick up everybody’s messes…

This was getting nowhere.

There was another strange stained puddle in the center of the room. I didn’t dare try to inspect it.

I contemplated stopping, but stopping would just let Rhys get away. This has to end.

Jekyll’s fear felt like it was only a small hint of nervousness. His power was fading away. Jekyll had to be hiding him in shadow. That was why he could get away so fast, and that was why he was so hard to spot.

My arm buzzed again. Reluctantly, I pulled it up, inspecting the image of the next building. Instead, I was met with Rhys, in a room. Ghatzbur sent me the footage of the live broadcast. It had to be a clone, right?

But how would I know it was him? What indicates that it’s not just a clone?

A message appeared on the top right of the holographic screen displaying the TV.

_Use your fear as a sensor. Don’t be an imbecile. - Dr. G_

I scowled. _He knows my abilities._ What a stupid idea. I can’t just use fear as a sensor, it’s not like I just let off a wave of fear and my nearest enemies are outlined around me…

I looked at the broadcast, then back to the message. I pinched the bridge of my nose, sighing. God, I’m such an idiot.

My powers currently outweigh Jekyll’s. He’s slowing down. So, I focused on the feeling of the room around me, the other rooms around me, and whoever was around.

A massive flash of crimson red spread out in a wave, passing through the walls. I could hear a few screams in other rooms, but other than that, nothing had changed on the screen in front of me. He didn’t seem to be anywhere near the next 5 floors and below. I had to keep going.

I swiped to the left on my holographic screen portrayed in front of me, shifting to the 3D scaled map of Neo-Riot City. A few more buildings were highlighted in yellow, each in close proximity to mine.

No time to waste then. I jumped through the window once more, and landed on a rooftop right above one of the highlighted buildings.

“This ends now, you coward!” I shouted towards the mic. I could only hear his pompous little laugh echo through the streets.

“Oh, _really_?”

“YEAH!” I stamped my foot on the roof of the building, causing it to shake and glow a blood red. I could hear distant shrieks from the open windows.

And in the video, Rhys seemed to stumble, wide-eyed. I grinned. Sucker.

I practically jet-boosted myself through the building with satisfaction. The little son of a bitch thought he could outsmart a Demigod? Think again. You don’t just do that.

I slammed open the door to their room, knocking it off of its hinges and toppling it on the floor.

“Well well well… what do we have he-” I opened my eyes. No one. A puddle on the ground. I scoffed. Are you _kidding me?_ SERIOUSLY?

He cackled. His obnoxious laughter continued to ring in my brain. “Oh, what? Do you think just a simple bit of fear manipulation would get me? You’d strike fear into your own citizens just to find me? How selfish…” He insulted me.

I shook my fists. Son of a bitch, piece of shit little asshole… God. I HATE HIM!

The room was all the same, the wires all the same, the oddly colored stain, ALL THE SAME.

However… the camera was nowhere in sight. The windows were covered by some black substance…

A white flash of light appeared before me, and the black substance flickered like a television. I squinted into it. What now?

The current screen flickered through film as it booted up. Like the older colorless films. And, not to my surprise, it was in black and white.

There were two people in frame. My older persona, Ruby Everheart, and some grimey, old factory worker. The room they were in was covered in rusty pipes and rusty walls. He was hunched over a large machine, pulling a lever, watching as chunks of raw meat got shoved into tiny cans.

God, I remember those times. I dressed up as a man and run a business during the Industrial Revolution. I felt bad for the poor in those days, but most of the time, I just couldn’t give a shit.

Ruby, donning her old grey flat cap and smoking a long cigar, came walking up to the old man, hands in her pockets. Her greasy black hair was tied into a bun, so it looked like her hair was short.

She raised an eyebrow at him, then stopped, putting a hand on his shoulder. The image reel was silent, but I knew exactly what I was saying. I was nagging him about handling the machinery wrong.

In the next moment, after Ruby had left, he tried handling it again.

Only to have his finger get sliced clean off.

Ruby came rushing back, watching as the man fell to the floor in pain, clutching his hand and watching the blood poor out. She stood over him. And the words she spoke were calling him out for being weak.

She ushered over someone new to replace him, just like that. And she walked away. The projection faded to black as the man silently screamed out in agony. I could just _hear him_.

I was left in disbelief, wide eyed and confused. Angry.

How did he even get that footage? Digging up the past, just to make me feel sorry? _Seriously?_

I scoffed. The past is still in the past. Ruby isn’t me anymore, and plus… health and safety regulations were even better nowadays. You can’t blame me for his mistake.

The black substance quickly melted away, and light poured in through the windows once more.

Behind that, was the camera, pointed directly at my face.

Rhys…

I slapped the camera away and summoned a large broadsword, slashing downward at the camera wiring. _He broadcasted the entire thing to the public. My pisspoor life choices._

From beyond, I could hear Rhys chuckling. _I was going to burn that man, as soon as I found him._

“What? Getting upset over nothing? Not very leader like, ‘hero’.” He hissed at me. It was like he was in my head, speaking this. Everyone else was hearing it.

“You… COWARD! You’re a wimp, nothing but a small thorn in my side, do you understand me?!” I shoved the mic in my face, only to feel the melted metal drip onto the floor. I shook my left hand as the mic sparked. “RHYS!”

“Look like someone's having a temper tantrum! Is this really the Everheart? The noble warrior everyone knows?” He laughed again. I looked down. Everyone was watching the man on the screen, in disbelief. His plan. _It was working._

I didn’t even care. Rhys was nothing. His work, nothing.

I snapped back to the window. He had to be right next door. He was anywhere.

But, then I saw a figure. Standing in the window.

It was the old man from the video, still looking as greasy as I saw him. His index finger was a shade of puke green. He smiled and waved at me with a toothy grin.

At that point, I didn’t care. I tore through the window and blasted myself full force into the next building, crashing through the wall and landing in an occupied break room. The people yelped and leapt backwards as the table they were sitting around went flying. I grabbed the old man by the shoulders and punched him as hard as I could.

His smile faded away as the black liquid covered my hands and knees.

I punched the ground and cursed. “You… coward…”

My vision tunneled. I’m going to snap his neck. Destroy his whole empire, _dismember it piece by piece and watch as it BURNS._

I stood myself up, shaking. He was in this building, he HAD TO BE. The other people around me coughed and gasped for air as they dropped to the ground. The carpet I had flown through was scorched a dark black.

Who cares. I trudged along to any room I could find, sending _wave after wave_ of fear. The employees who were now laying on the ground in the hallway, shaking, screaming and crying.

I shoved my arm in my face. Rhys was there, and he shook. And he shook again. In a break room like the one I just visited.

I kicked through the nearby wall. No Rhys. I stormed through the room and kicked the next wall. No Rhys. Third time, no Rhys.

But the same. Exact. _Room._

I dropped to my knees and yelled. “YOU WIMPY COWARD, YOU PIECE OF SHIT! SHOW YOURSELF!”

The room’s electrical equipment flashed and sparked away. Any metal in the room melted down and pooled on the floor, right in front of the odd stain.

The windows were blocked out again.

“What a leader you are.” He hissed.

The black screen in front of me flashed. I didn’t want to look at it, but sheer curiosity got the best of me.

The only thing I saw was the silhouette of an angel with wings…

I slammed my fist into the screen as hard as I could, watching as the liquid poured down onto my hands, melting down like chocolate.

That wasn’t even my fault, that was _AMBER’S_ for being such an ignorant, stupid BITCH! Ennes was never my fault, it was everything that had happened, the pressure, the stress… None of it was MY fault.

_And Rhys was TRYING to make it my fault._

I was _shaking_. The room filled with smoke, and the camera that Rhys tried setting up behind the screen was already being brought down.

“Just look at you. A hot-headed, lying mess. She _isn’t_ the hero everyone knows. She’s just a hyperactive child gifted with powers she doesn’t deserve.” He continued on, repeating endlessly through the streets. I circled around the room, too pissed to move and find him. Why would I? He’s not anywhere, he’s not even real. “You’re burning down the room, you know. This is exactly why you’re just simply not cut out to be a leader, and now everyone sees what I mean. Violence is not the answer, and yet here you are… looking for a fight.”

“Don’t you DARE tell me that bullshit, Rhys! You’re the fucking _terrorist_, not me.”

“I don’t let my anger get the best of me. This just proves how _weak_ of a leader you REALLY ar-”

_BANG~!_

Someone shot at me from a nearby window. Not any guards. Me.

I saw the bullet. A .300 Winchester Magnum. It popped and sizzled on the ground before me, melted before it could reach my head.

He wanted to humiliate me, then kill me? Just like that?

This was his _BIGGEST_ mistake yet.

I smashed through the window wall and leapt towards the direction of the shooter. I could hear Rhys physically curse through the speaker. I laughed.

His marksman just fucked up.

Now Rhys was going to pay.

That was, until my head hit a cold wall, making me see stars. It pushed me back, mid-flight, into the room I had just obliterated.

_This… close…_

I was knocked backward, denting the wall behind me. I groaned. I didn’t realize how achy I was up until I was just clocked in the head.

But Rhys. He looked at me through the other building, throwing some earpiece off of his head, and running away with two other people. I sneered. No. _No way I’m letting him go NOW._

Someone leapt in through the hole in the wall, towering over me, holding a large club.

“Creation to General Allerton.” A soft, yet still raspy voice spoke over me. “I’ll handle it.”

I’m not letting him get away.

I leapt up, catching the figure by surprise and clocking them in the jaw with the full force of the pure hatred I was holding for Rhys.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God, what a hot head
> 
> i wasn't talking about riku


	26. Inkling from Smash vs Angry Butcher

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> JJ gives her friends some time to escape.

A massive, long puddle of ink rose up from its shallow depths and forged a wall between Riku and her target, blocking out the sun and making the room go pitch black. JJ clutched her paintbrush, concentrating steadily on the barrier she was creating for Rhys’s escape.

But to JJ’s dismay, Riku was _not_ in the mood for sitting and chatting. A massive column of fire burst through the wall, creating a massive hole right through the center.

Riku leapt forward with a focused grunt, crashing through the wall that used to be before her. Not before the blackened ink that had splashed onto her hands earlier formed into cold, metal chains and yanked her right back into place on the floor of the once-clean office room.

“GRR… NO…” She growled, yanking at her binds as hard as she could. She could just barely see the silhouette of a girl moving in the darkness of the room, but she didn’t care. _Rhys was getting away._

JJ didn’t have much time to think. The forged ink was melting, and her supply tank was running short fast.

Riku was clawing at the ink like a caged animal. She just wasn’t simply going to stand by and watch as her mortal enemy just waltzed away.

The silhouette Riku passed off as just in her head was standing right over her, like it was taunting her. She couldn’t make them out yet, but she glared daggers right at them.

The chains dripped down into sizzling hot puddles on the ground at Riku’s feet. The air was almost too hot for the figure to handle, they practically stumbled to the floor.

As soon as Riku felt the cool sensation of the metal against her skin leave her, she pounced at the person before her with a swift punch to the gut, charged by the most searing flames she could manage to conjure.

JJ had but half a second to react. She held her breath and lifted her arm as Riku swung, summoning a very weak cushion of solid black paint between them. It took the impact of the hit, shattering with a dull _crack_ as Riku burned a fist-shaped hole right through it.

However, Riku’s right arm was now free, and she immediately followed up JJ’s counter with an elbow slightly higher into her solar plexus.

JJ wheezed as the air was knocked right out of her, stumbling back, holding up her a hand as to give the two some space. She held her solar plexus as she gulped.

“You BASTARD! You _let him_ get away!” Riku yelled at JJ as she gasped for air. She shook her fists, advancing at her new target. “I’ll kill you for that, you fucking…”

Riku suddenly stopped in her tracks as the figure she could not previously identify frowned at her. The intense flames died down to a mild campfire level of heat. Riku was at a loss for words.

“_Jacqueline?_” She spoke in utter disbelief. “Wh-What are you doing here?” She stared her friend up and down. Half of her body was a sickening puke green, and scarred stitching lined those parts of her body. Her eyes were now blue and yellow, two different colors. Her dark, bouncy brown hair was now greasy, grey hair in the mix of it all.

“_Stopping you._” She whispered tiredly at Riku, standing back up. Her hand reached for the massive paintbrush on the ground.

“W-Wait… why are you working for _him?_ Where are the other two?”

“Dead,” She lied. “It’s just me. They couldn’t… they couldn’t stand the sight of seeing your murderous, lying face again.” Riku almost winced at the sound of her old friend, her close friend, being so spiteful towards her.

She was about to interject, but she stopped herself.

_Rhys, he… got away._ She thought. _JJ let him get away. Just like that. Throwing her trust all in his arms. Like our friends meant nothing._

Riku’s guilt and sudden want to just sit and talk was replaced by that familiar feeling of growing hatred. _He got away._

Her grimace changed to a scoff. “Oh, so we meant that little to you. They meant that little to you, didn’t they?” Riku only sighed. “You’re throwing away your life for some guy who bluffs his way through life? How _pathetic._”

JJ was taken aback by the Everheart’s sudden change in mood. She had never seen her Everheart be so bipolar. _Sh-Shoot, I meant those insults to stall her, not make her even closer to exploding on me!_ “I’m not the pathetic one here. I-I’m just trying to make things right.”

“Adding more fuel to the fire is _making things right?_” Riku clenched her fists. “You were never really a friend, were you?”

“I’m doing this for the greater good of this place, Everheart.”

“Greater good?” She laughed. “Oh Really? Letting public enemy #1 get away, and then going behind your old friend’s back for _hundreds of years_ to work with him is the _greater good?_ Oh, that’s too good!” She rolled her eyes. “Rhys is a liar and a manipulator. You can’t be serious.”

“You’re the same as him then, _Negative_ Demigod.”

Riku’s eyes went wide. “_Excuse me?_” No one in _their right minds_ EVER called Negative Demigods by their names like that. Especially one like Riku. The flames grew again, spreading to the already blackened walls. Two bright flames cackled in her palms. “I’ll make you eat those words, _traitor._”

JJ expected her to come flailing at her with as many fire-infused punches as she could muster. However, when the throwing knives formed in her hands, she was proven very wrong.

She put her rotted self forward and twirled her paintbrush as fast as she could as knives flew through the air with the precision of Austin with his Arctic Magnum. A few lodged themselves into the wooden frame of the brush, only to melt into a pool of ink and pour onto the floor.

Other knives whizzed right past her, sticking right into the office walls like darts. As she was twirling the brush, one knife grazed right past JJ’s rotted arm, leaving a rather large gash. However, as JJ’s zombie-like skin was rotted, all she felt was a small papercut. It didn’t feel pleasant, but not life-threatening.

Riku reached down, grabbing the hilt of a newly materialized black cleaver the size of a baseball bat. Its sharp edge was rigid, and JJ could just barely see the glint of crimson red along each point…

She took the weapon by two hands and dashed forward. She raised the weapon up above her head and snarled as she slammed it down into the ground where JJ used to be.

_If I can’t take my aggression out on one traitor… I can take it out on another one._ She thought to herself, quickly dislodging the cleaver from the broken floor and swinging it right back around her shoulder to where JJ had dodged the attack.

JJ grew tired with each swing and attack she barely missed. Riku wasn’t letting up, not by a landslide. Her anger seemed to be clouding her vision.

Even though her massive, two-handed weapon was probably half the size of her, Riku was swinging it around with the speed and precision of punches, like the weapon was a part of her body. JJ barely missed the blade by a centimeter of space with each large swing.

Riku went for just about any opening she could see. She side-swung right across JJ’s chest, but JJ ducked right under it, Matrix style. As her eyes scanned the sharp, massive blade aggressively trying to kill her, she realized one thing.

_...Fuck. What am I doing taking on the Everheart in hand-to-hand combat?_ It was like Rhys had told her. Taking on a Master of War in a close-combat fight is pointless and stupid, because she’d _always_ win.

She turned to the side and put her hands on the ground, looking ahead. There was a small pool of ink right in front of her. She scrambled to run over to it, but Riku had already recovered from her weapon and she punted JJ with all her might into the nearby wall.

J quickly turned herself around, watching as Riku dragged the cleaver across the ground, walking up to her with what she thought was a sickening _grin_ in her exhaustion. A sense of dread crashed down into her as she tried backing up further into the wall.

That’s when she looked back down at the pool on the floor.

She flexed her muscle and pointed upwards, watching as a massive, oily black hand rose from the puddle. She pointed at Riku, and the arm recoiled back and smashed into her with the force of a moving car. She could hear her nearly cry out in pain as she slammed her back into the wall across from her.

The ink fist was slowly deteriorating, as JJ could barely hold it anymore. Her arm shook sporadically as she stopped concentrating on it, watching as it rained down into a massive stain leading out into the open wall that used to be the windows.

_I gotta get outta here._

She flipped her paintbrush over and watched as the brush end disappeared, being replaced by the barrel of a cannon. A large tube connected to her back ink supply.

The cannon fired a massive glob of black paint onto the ground, pushing JJ back a bit and creating an easy exit. JJ swung her brush to her back and dove straight towards the pool leading out.

“Oh _no you don’t!_” Riku pushed herself off the wall and lept towards JJ as she took a divebomb into the puddle. She gripped her sleeve and tried to pull her back, but the momentum sent her into the ink as well.

Riku gagged as the murky waters filled her lungs, her body dissolving. She could feel her limbs become _sticky_and she struggled to hang on for dear life as she was tossed around through a black vortex.

When she emerged again, she was thrown straight across the area, skidding to the halt right by the edge. JJ tried to escape using her ink, but once Riku grabbed ahold of her, she decided to take them to a more open space. The rooftop, right above the room they were once in.

_”Almost there, J. Just hold off.”_ Matthias spoke into her ear. She huffed, and nodded, holding her brush with two hands. She could feel the ink jar on her back getting lighter and lighter with everything she did.

Riku’s cleaver was nowhere to be found. She was still hacking up oil. She stood back up on one knee.

_That little bastard…_ She thought to herself. As she turned around, she watched as JJ mopped the floor with her brush, making a line straight across the roof, and then turning on one heel and jumping to the next rooftop in front of her.

“JJ, get back here you asshole!” Riku hollered at the Demigod, who just kept running. She glowered and started running after her. _I’m not letting anyone else get away._

The pool in front of Riku erupted, forming a polished, neat black brick wall around 4 feet tall. Riku only scoffed. “That’s all you can do?” She hopped over it with ease, and continued trudging onward. JJ had raised another wall ahead, yet this one Riku couldn’t quite see past. As soon as she landed herself on the next rooftop, she held her hands out, letting a massive flame form in her palms.

And, just as she was about to fire it, the wall simply fell down as if it had just become liquid again. Except, it didn’t fall. Thousands of droplets floated in midair, JJ holding up her hand behind them.

Then they formed into tiny bullets.

Riku’s eyes went wide as she desperately shielded herself with her robotic arm.

JJ thrust her hand out, and the gunfire focused directly on Riku as if she was being pelted by hail. Riku’s entire body was engulfed with flames as she shut her eyes tightly, clenching her teeth, focusing intently on making herself as hot as she possibly could to make the bullets evaporate on contact.

One stuck in her left arm, and she grimaced. The pain shot up her entire arm like… well, like she’d been shot. Others ricocheted off her robotic arm, denting it only slightly.

As soon as the gunfire died down, Riku scowled at her old friend, who continued to run away. Riku followed her blindly “You can’t run forever, and you _know it!_”

JJ gulped. _She’s right, you know._ After using her power to help Rhys, and now having to go all out in a battle like this… she wasn’t going to last long.

Riku was gaining on her, fast. Not only was she less exhausted, but she was much more athletic, too. JJ yanked her brush around and turned over her shoulder, summoning a stroke of paint that cut towards Riku. She slammed her brush on the ground and the paint flew forwards. JJ continued running to the best of her ability.

The Demigod of War dove forward and tucked into a roll just as the flying paint was about to cut her. She jumped up, only to trip and fall flat onto the ground. She looked down at her foot and sighed. A slick, black chain running from her pant leg connected her foot to the ground.

JJ skid to a halt, gasping for air. She turned back to Riku, who was tugging at her leg desperately. She was surrounded by heat waves, making the space around her look distorted.

JJ’s ink jar was completely empty. She couldn’t use most of her powers now, unless she wanted to exhaust herself creating objects from thin air. And running… well, Riku could keep up with her, that was certain.

She observed her surroundings, looking for an exit of some sort. and to her right, was a rooftop pool of a hotel. Uninhabited, and it seemed to be the size of the rooftop. A single whte fence bordered the rooftop. _Bingo._

Riku summoned a hunting knife and started to cut away at the chain.” he Everheart was starting to glow a light red, and JJ felt like she was being baked. It wouldn’t be long until that chain melted down.

“Why…” JJ started. “Why are you still chasing me?”

“I’m not letting a _single one_ of you resistance members get away, especially not a dead-beat Demigod like yourself…” She continued to cut away at her bind. At this point, neither of the girls noticed the news reporters setting themselves up on the neighboring rooftops. “I’d think that a Positive Demigod as high up as you would be a leader. That’s what Amber saw in you. And yet, you’ve chose to work for the enemy...”

JJ’s stomach dropped at the mention of her name. She felt a tinge of guilt. This _was_ Amber, just with a new coat of paint. She never thought in a _million years_ that Amber would do the things she did. That’s why she still had some hopes of reconciling, some tiny bit inside her wished that Riku would change into her, and they’d hug it out and catch up over lunch.

But no. Here they were. Riku was _clearly_ trying to kill her, and JJ was about to collapse of pure exhaustion. Her feet ached, and she was sweating profusely, hands shaking. She couldn’t run much longer without risking her fainting. The look in the new Everheart’s eyes clearly shown an intense passion to hurt her.

JJ continued to breath heavily, her thoughts racing. Riku would be getting up any second. And with that, J said the worst thing she could’ve possibly said to keep her down.

“J-Just because you’re special doesn’t make you entitled.” JJ suddenly blurted out without thinking.

“What was that?”

“Just because you’re special doesn’t make you entitled to act like a higher-up, know it all who hurts people. Just like what you’re doing right now.”

The chain on Riku’s leg was cut open like smooth butter in an instant. _For Creation’s sake, Why am I saying the things I’m saying? It’s just making her more irritated and stronger._

JJ raised her hand immediately, using the very little remaining ink to chain Riku up even more. Riku cursed and the heat became too much to handle. JJ coughed profusely, and sprinted towards the hotel pool as fast as she could. Her lungs were filled with smoke. Her eyes watered and her legs felt as if they were going to collapse. Yet, she kept moving forward.

She wouldn’t be surprised if her good side of skin was going to be red for the next week.

JJ practically collapsed onto the floor of the pool rooftop. It was surrounded by shrubbery, and black pool chairs. The water sparkled a light blue. She reached out towards the pool.

“CREATION!” A voice boomed behind her. She flinched. “I’M NOT DONE WITH YOU YET!” She didn’t dare try to turn around, only focusing on the unoccupied pool which would be her new ink source.

She dipped the tip of her brush in the water and concentrated on the movement of the water swirling around her brush. The water started to get more and more murky, and her arms were shaking as she stirred the pool, but she continued forward, until every inch of the pool was a molasses-like liquid.

She sighed in relief as her brush glowed a brilliant light yellow, completely filled with energy. JJ then looked back to where Riku was chained.

She wasn’t there. The ink had completely evaporated.

JJ spun around, watching her surroundings attentively. Riku could be literally anywhere. Taking a minute long break gave her just enough time to escape and then get to somewhere where she couldn’t be seen.

After about 30 seconds of looking desperately for Riku, JJ almost came to the conclusion that she had finally given up and left her alone.

_BOOOM!_

A massive blast of wind shook JJ from behind, the heat increasing to unbearable temperatures. In a panic, JJ swept the ground with her brush to raise another wall.

Riku crashed right through the wall with ease, landing a direct kick to JJ’s ribs. Creation yelped and was sent flying.

Her side suddenly spiked in unbearable, screaming pain. As soon as J landed, she groaned in agony, holding her side. She looked down. A clear, blackened hole straight through her uniform, the fabric completely torn through. Her skin was completely beet red, ripped open, some places charred as black as her clothing. It looked sticky.

She coughed. A mix of a broken rib and 3rd degree burns. She clutched her side whilst struggling to stand.

_”J! Hang in there, they’re almost out! Just a few more minutes!”_ Matthias cut in.

_Go big or go home._ A voice spoke in her head.

She glanced back at the black pool, and then to her target, who was now on fire, advancing at a quickened pace, quite literally smoking. That terrifyingly massive cleaver was just materializing in her hands.

Riku raised the weapon over her head, running towards her with a yell.

JJ weakly smiled. _One last stand._

She held her brush with two hands, and the bristles twisted, forming a metal cannon.

_BANG!_

JJ shot Riku with a concentrated blast of ink. Point blank.

Riku was thrown 50 feet in the air like a ragdoll, now soaked completely in ink to the point where she was unrecognizable. Creation squinted as she watched Riku soar. She didn’t seem to be getting up or moving. She couldn’t help but feel bad. _What if she died?_

Creation looked behind herself. There were no more rooftops to run across. She had to find another way down.

A flash of light blinded J, and she stumbled back. Riku exploded in a flash of light, and like a meteor, she crashed right through the roof where JJ was located. J was shaken to the ground like an earthquake.

Riku had made a massive, red crater right in the center of the hotel roof. Smoke billowed out the hole. JJ shakily coughed. Closing her eyes as they watered. She could see the glowing silhouette of a _very_ enraged Demigod stalking closer.

Riku stumbled a bit. Her insides felt like they were twisted upside down. She felt queasy, but she didn’t care.

“You little… traitor…” She rumbled. “I’ll.. I’ll…”

Riku rushed forward, two scimitars raised to slice her neck right open. JJ pushed her Ink-Cannon to her face, absorbing the two attacks and pushing her back.

Riku didn’t hesitate a bit. The swords swung in sync, and JJ was way too sluggish to combat back.

So she pushed her back again, giving her enough time to switch her heavy cannon to a smooth, black halberd.

_I need to switch up weapons. Focus._

Riku didn’t let up. She seemed almost like she was enjoying the fight, getting faster and more aggressive as time went on.

She shifted her weapon to a longblade to work with JJ’s halberd.

J pressed forward, taking a few quick jabs to Riku’s sides. Riku sidestepped with ease, using her sword to move her halberd out of the way and countering with her own attacks.

Whenever Riku got too close for comfort, JJ switched to a shield and shoved the Everheart back, then going for the spots where ink still remained on her skin. Those parts would be the most sensitive.

Riku’s use of smoke and heat made JJ slow and gasping for air, even more than she was. Everything felt like it was on fire.

Despite that, JJ tried her best to stay focused, keeping her eyes glued open no matter how much they stung.

She weakly stood right back up, shaping her brush once more. This time, into a pair of massive shears with sharp edges. She snapped them.

Riku went in for a stab to the gut. J grabbed her weapon by the shears, and twisted them, forcing Riku’s weapon to fly out of her hands.

JJ spun, and her shears shaped into a baseball bat.

The wind was knocked out of Riku as she was hit by a baseball bat at the most vulnerable place in her entire body. The spot she was knocked point blank at.

Riku wheezed as she crashed to the floor. She coughed, holding her chest like it was bleeding. She breathed heavily, wincing. But yet, she simply got right back up.

She took a step back and her palms burned brighter than ever. She tossed the flame like she was a baseball pitcher, and Creation swung, knocking the fireball out of the field. Riku threw another one, and this time she switched to a shield. The shield took the blunt of the hit, knocking JJ slightly back towards the wall. Her shield started to melt.

And then Riku came swinging in with the cleaver.

Each simple block, hit and dodge felt like a workout all in itself. Riku showed no signs of stopping. She spun around, each hit making her fall more and more. That thing could easily take her head clean off.

Another hit to the shield, and an ear-busting _clang!_ emerged from the shield. It shattered in half, becoming nothing but a puddle on the floor. JJ, wide eyed, jumped back, knocking herself to the floor once more.

She thrust her hand out, and the ink came back to her like Mjölnir, forging into its classic massive brush style.

The absolute terror started to settle in JJ. She wouldn’t be making this out alive. _I’m going to die. Oh god, I don’t wanna die…_

She gulped, holding her brush above her. It shaped into another weapon.

JJ’s brush whirred to life, blades spinning rapidly. A massive, black chainsaw spun its teeth towards Riku, and with a slow downward slash, the momentum carried JJ over into an overexaggerated swing.

Riku sidestepped to JJ’s right and kicked her in the spot where it hurt. The wound only stung more, and J cried out in agony as she rolled over.

_Get up. C’mon, buddy! Get up!_ She told herself. With formidable effort, she got herself right back up, looking to Riku. She hyperventilated. Her head pounded. She was burned in several areas. Her ribcage screamed out in desperate torment. She clutched it with one hand, the other clawing at her now brush. Her legs throbbed. She couldn’t see. She couldn’t focus.

Most of the paint had dried. Riku’s face was starting to bruise, and a single drop of ink was spilling from her mouth. But she didn’t look tired at all. She seemed… almost _giddy_. It terrified JJ.

She looked back to the public pool behind Riku. It was still relatively full.

_Go big or go home._

JJ jumped to the side, completely dodging Riku, and pushed all thoughts aside as she jumped into the pool of ink.

Riku ran after her. “Don’t hide from me, Creation!” She bellowed. Her palms burned a bright red. JJ had nowhere to run. She couldn’t.

The ink pool started to rise. From that, a giant head rose. Then a giant hand. Then two.

Soon enough, a makeshift, absolutely towering version of JJ stood towering above Riku. At least 2 stories tall. Glimmering in the intense heat.

It didn’t seem to be melting, either.

The ink giant glanced down at Riku, then moved its hand up to prepare a punch. Whole gallons of ink dropped down to the ground, splattering Riku.

Riku’s jaw dropped. _How…?_

The flames started to die down. _Fuck._

Then she shook her head. _No! Don’t get scared of something like this!_

She raised a weapon. A simple, sword.

“Oh, you wanna play like that, you little asshole?” She smirked. “_Let’s play._”

_BOOOOM~!_

An explosion rocked the building. Everything in a 20 foot radius was immediately scorched to dust. Riku gasped, her body trembling. Everything was covered in a blinding fire. Her body felt like it was _literally_ on fire. Something she could never feel.

Her body wasn’t visible. It was like staring at the sun. From her, a single flame rose above her head. Her body _was_ fire. She smiled through the pain.

JJ swung in one last desperate attempt to get rid of her chaser. Riku spun the sword, hitting the black fist.

She was pushed back a bit into the ground, but she pushed forward. Riku and JJ clashed against one another, fighting to win control.

Riku pushed the hilt of her sword forward. Her head pounded. The sword hung heavy, like it was 200 pounds.

Riku thought of her friend. Her _old_ friend. She was a traitor. She abandoned her old friends for a greasy… old… disgusting person such as Rhys. Just for some _petty vengeance._

Now that… _THAT_ made her _pissed._

“Get… out… of _my…_ CITY!” She screamed, driving forward, cutting straight through the ink. It evaporated on contact. The sword sliced through like butter. And the inky giant roared.

Riku continued forward, feeling nothing but intense _hatred_. Nothing but absolute disgust for someone she wanted so badly to get back together with. Friends? Oh well.

A sudden new burst of a fiery tornado rocked JJ, making the entire giant crumble to dust. Ink sprayed the city streets like rain.

JJ fell through the air. She desperately looked down towards the streets that she was crashing into. A sewer lid seemed to be directly down her. _There. Now. Go._

She didn’t think twice.

She crashed through the sewers and ran as fast as she possibly could. Far, _far_ away from the Demigod of War.

Riku collapsed to the floor, shaking. JJ had escaped. And Riku was much too exhausted to get up and chase her.

She looked to her palms, which were covered in soot. She coughed up a bit of ink.

That feeling of power and control suddenly vanished, making Riku feel vulnerable and scared. She gulped.

Her adrenaline calmed down, and so did her breathing. She still felt angry. _Very angry_. JJ got away.

She shook her fist. The robotic arm seemed to be broken, unresponsive.

Her body swelled. She was hit a lot at point blank during that fight.

Two figures walked up to Riku, who was still looking at her hands on the floor.

“G-General Everheart!” Captain Ramirez started. “That was… _incredible, ma’am!_” Pederson nodded profusely beside her.

“Th-Thanks.” Riku spoke, not turning to see them.

“So… did you drive away the intruder?” Pederson asked her.

“Yes.”

“Thank goodness, General! So… there are _two Demigods_ on Rhys’s side, then?” Ramirez spoke.

“Apparently.” Riku didn’t bother telling them the truth. What she thought. She couldn’t shake that feeling. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly for a moment, like she couldn’t comprehend what she just did.

“You… you saved the city, ma’am! The citizens are overjoyed!”

“You know…” Riku whispered. “I… don’t know why I did…” Her blank expression turned to a scowl.

Riku’s hands lit on fire again. She stood back up.

“You… pathetic little…”

Her hands suddenly rose to her forehead, and she groaned in pain, falling to her knees. “Ergh… Using powers like that, it… it gets to a Negative’s head…” She sighed. “Just… just give me a moment, sorry…”

“A-Ah… yes, General.” The two looked at each other and turned right back, away from her.

* * *

JJ found the others hurriedly running back towards the exit of the sewers, far, _far_ away from the city.

The three of them all looked about ready to cry as JJ emerged from the shadows. Austin and Matthias ran up to hug her.

“Oh, thank god…” Matthias started. “When I saw the broadcast, I thought you were going to get fried…”

“Please don’t ever do that again I’m so sorry that I went overboard I’m so sorry please forgive me-” Austin cried.

JJ weakly laughed, then coughed. “Aha… don’t… don’t worry. I’m… okay… Now please, g-get off me. I can’t breathe.”

The two took their arms off JJ, walking beside her.

“Oh lord…” Kaitlyn spoke. “If we were to lose someone like you, Jaquelyn… I wouldn’t know what Jekyll and I would’ve done.” she sighed. “You really held your own there.”

“Heh… thanks…”

“But…” Suddenly, Rhys cut in. “Captain Riverra, this mission was _compromised._ All because of you.” He shook his head. “You _know_ what I’ll do if you mess up again, right?”

“Y-Yes, General.”

“_So don’t mess up again. Understand?_”

“Yes General.”

* * *

Riku sighed as she was wrapped in a nice blue blanket, walking down the ink-covered streets of the city with a cup of water in her hands. Her legs were still stiff, but at least she could move.

Two guards walked beside her as she moved back towards the black tanks, where Dr. Ghatzbur was waiting.

People walking along the streets gawked at the sight of her. Most cheered and hollered, as if Riku was some sort of parade. She just weakly smiled at waved at some of the passersby.

_Just smile and wave, boys. Smile and wave._

Suddenly, a small girl broke out from beyond the crowds, and ran straight past the guards. She hugged Riku at her legs, making her stumble back.

The kid seemed to be about 4 or 5. Very short, her black pigtails seemed to be tied delicately. She looked up at the Everheart, small tears in her eyes.

“M-M-Missus… Missus Everhart…” She sniffled. “Thank you for protecting me and my mommy and d-daddy from that scary monster…”

Riku couldn’t help but smile. The guards looked at her, but she only shook her head. She kneeled down to the kid’s height.

“Don’t worry. No scary monster’s going to do anything on my watch.” She pointed to herself with her thumb, giving a big smile to the little girl. The girl giggled.

“Y-Yeah! Not with Missus Everhart around! Yay, Missus Everhart!”

Riku chuckled. “Yay, me.”

The kid soon ran back to her parents, who laughed and waved the Everheart as she kept walking.

She soon met up with Dr. Ghatzbur, who was already started to stare at Riku’s broken arm. He sighed. “Really, Everheart? Already?”

“I’m sure it won’t take long, Doctor.”

“Of course it won’t. But… if I’m being frank, you and Creation almost destroyed the whole city. You’re not destruction, are you?”

Riku’s heart sank. _Yeah. You’re still a terrible person, no matter what the public thinks._

“No. No I’m not.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, what a chapter! It took me a long time to write it too


	27. Jekyll has a mental breakdown over a little girl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaitlyn makes a deal with the devil.

_A few weeks prior_

My… my head…

I winced. Lord, what happened? I cracked open my eyes.

The room was pitch black. It took a moment to adjust to the darkness. It appeared as if I was in a blank, white room. No furniture, no light fixtures. Nothing.

I looked behind me. A mirror. Or, a one way window. Most likely a one way window, considering a rectangle in the shape of a door was to my left.

My skin was sickly pale. I looked like I had been dead. But that really isn’t possible. My clothing was completely white, like nighttime wear. But it was certainly too uncomfortable for sleepwear.

It looked more like clothes you’d see for disheveled test subjects of some terrifying experiment. Like this one novel I read where girls were experimented on as hosts and sacrifices for a greater god.

I hated how many characters that book added. It just got more and more confusing. If the author were to rewrite it, I would’ve suggested focusing more on the main cast of four.

Either way, I was kidnapped and in an experiment of some kind. But how?

Then my memory came back to me… Right. Something odd happened. This massive array of airships came and Riku burned down the forest.

It all seemed too real to be a dream. I remember the smell of the smoke vividly, the way Riku’s arm glittered in an odd way… And some men grabbed me by the arms and knocked me out. I scratched the back of my head. So that’s what this headache was from…

But… how did Riku summon fire? And _why was I here?_ I didn’t really understand it all yet. Perhaps it was a form of… well, some plan was hatching, and three of Riku’s friends were involved.

They kidnapped all three of us, after all. I just didn’t know where. They had to be here somewhere.

I stood up on two shaky, weak legs, using the one way window to prop myself up. My stomach rumbled. Oh, I’m hungry. But I didn’t feel thirsty.

That’s when I noticed the slight gleam of some object in the center of the room… I took small steps towards it.

An amulet, with black chains tying it together. The stone in the center was even darker than the shadows I was surrounded by.

I picked it up, feeling the cold, smooth edges of the centerpiece in my hands. Each and every ridge was surprisingly… _not well crafted_. Whoever made it seemed to be in a rush. Some of the edges of the stone were sharp and uneven. The chains seemed to be welded together in some areas.

I felt an odd chill send waves down my hands, up to my whole body. I wasn’t sure what it was.

The necklace then started to hiss. Smog covered my hands. It looked like a mix of smog and smoke. The smog/smoke substance pooled down to the floor, pitch black, like the amulet.

Okay, now it’s smoking. Is this some compact fog machine?

Since all of my life went upside down due to Riku spitting literal fire, it could’ve been anything. I kept the stone held tightly in my hands. The fog was very cold. It made my hands numb.

A pool of the smog started to form into the shape of a figure above the amulet. They let out a low, rumbling chuckle, which turned into a cackling laugh. Their voice was rough and distorted, very low pitched.

He laughed as if me holding the stone was some sort of inside joke that was absolutely hilarious.

The figure towered over me, two snaky arms raise at either side as if he was going to try and spook me. His hands were talons. I could see his jagged, crooked mouth as it glowed white in the darkness.

His shoulders spun, as if they were a black fire.

His eyes suddenly opened widely, two illuminating circles in the dark. He cackled once more.

Black amulet… white eyes… ghost-like… Ah, yes. Mythology, right?

But _which one?_ I was still deciphering it. He looked me up and down. I looked him up and down. His lower half seemed to snake back into the amulet.

“So… are you a… shadow genie?” I asked him.

His endless laughing suddenly stopped. “What?”

“You know… genies that manipulate people’s words for wishes into something that eventually ends up being their downfall. I thought those were common in that mythology…” I continued scanning through my knowledge of mythologies.

That aspect of the world was really creative. I loved to research and study about each different god, creature and hero out there. I never thought I’d use this as field knowledge, but I guess I am now.

The shadowy figure was completely silent. The smoky black fog surrounding him circled around my arms and legs, tingling as if they were going to come to life and chop me into bits. He did seem very irritated, his eye twitching. But, his annoyed expression faded in seconds, and he was back to being all smiley.

“You _don’t_ know who I am?” He laughed. “Oh, that makes this all the better! Kaitlyn Netta Bynes… You and I are going to have _fun_.” He said it playfully, like he was trying to manipulate me.

“Hmm. I didn’t tell you my name? So, how do you know?” I asked him another question. He snickered again.

“I don’t need to be told a thing, Bynes… I can get into your head and do _whatever I want…_” He whispered to me, sending a few pins and needles down my arms.

Okay, dark ghost, mind games, most likely insane… Oh. _Ohhhh._

Yeah, that makes sense.

“Jekyll, Right? Is that your name?” He smiled.

“You’re smart, aren’t you…? I like my hosts smart…” He circled around me, coming in right by my ear. “And you’re going to make the perfect host for dear old me.”

“Um. That’s…” I took a step back, facing him again. “You really think you’re just going to take control of my body? Just like that?”

“Duh.”

“That… that isn’t how it works.”

“_Really?_” He stared at me amusedly, put his head in his hand in the air. “And you make the rules, hun?”

“Well… I mean, based off of your track record… I’m certain it’s not really going to work.”

That’s when he burst out laughing.

“Little girl, I have murdered _hundreds_, terrorized countries, all contained in an amulet! What makes me think your smarts are going to stop me? I can do _anything!_” He put his hands over his head and dove right into my chest. I could feel my insides cool down, and it stung slightly.

I believe he was trying to possess me.

He only passed right through, ending up behind me. The expression on his face was clearly confused. He sat back up, an eyebrow raised. “Huh?” He said in disbelief. He tried diving back into my body again.

He flew right through. “_What?_”

He did it again. And again. And again.

I just stared idly at the wall, waiting for the Demigod to finish. That was… what he was, right?

A ghost, just like those in movies. He continued to pass through me. He was much more powerful than some ghostbusters villain, though. His threats of killing people was completely true, if I had my mythos right. I didn’t quite get to know his powers. I knew he was possessive, and incorporeal. That was it.

“Are you done yet, Demigod of Nightmares?” I looked back to him as he swam through my body again and again.

“Wh...How…” He said, exasperated.

“Simple. I don’t fear you.”

“You _what?_”

“You heard me right.” I turned back to him, staring him down. “I mean, it’s as simple as that. People who aren’t afraid of you render you powerless.”

I could see the visible confusion on his face. He looked ready to either cry or laugh.

“Bynes, I am _made of_ nightmares!” He yelled. “And if you’re not afraid of me… then I’ll find something that _makes_ you afraid… We’re gonna have a blast!” He suddenly flew threw my head, making my head pound even worse. He came out, looking very curious. “Hmmm… I guess I’ll just need to guess!” He flipped in the air, then his tiny spidery body fell onto the floor. It was the size of a dinner plate, long legs spread out across the floor. He jumped up onto my leg, and skittered up to my shoulder.

“I can bite you, and you’ll die, a slow, _painful_ death…” He hissed.

“Okay.” I spoke in a monotone voice.

He huffed, then he leapt off of my shoulder, turning into a massive horde of shadowy wasps. “Then I’ll sting you until you’re completely numb!” The wasps buzzed against my ear, making my headache even worse.

“That’s… fine.” I said again.

He shifted back into his normal self. I had barely noticed the smoke creep up to my throat, before it wrapped tightly around my neck, as scaly as a snake’s skin. I choked, grabbing the coils and wincing.

“Then you’ll drown. Or choke. It’s all the same to me!” He laughed, holding his hand up like he was force choking me. He clenched his fists, and the tendril tightened.

“Oh… k-kay…” I spoke in gasps of air.

He slumped, setting me back down. Then, he snapped.

My body suddenly became very ill, and I couldn’t stand. I shut my eyes and held my head as the light-headedness took over my body.

When I opened my eyes, I appeared to standing on the edge of a 100 foot cliff. Jagged, bloody rocks covered the floor of the cliff. I took a step back, but was pushed forward, going into freefall.

“I’m… still in the same room!” I yelled through the howling of the wind. “This is all a trick of my own imagination!”

I faceplanted onto the ground. Jekyll seemed to be getting more and more irritated.

He transformed into a massive, pitch black bear, snarling and swinging its claws. The bear towered over me, at least 10 feet tall on its hind legs. The claws swung right at me, but they passed through.

I only sighed. “Are you done yet, Jekyll?”

“NO! MY VICTIMS ARE SUPPOSED… TO COVER IN TERROR!” His shadows spinning around my ankles shifted into long snakes, hissing and slithering around on the floor, wrapping around my legs. Some of them tried to bite me.

“Hmm. Tacky.” At this point, I was basically just poking fun at the demon. He could kill me. But well, I didn’t really care.

His shadows slithered off and came together creating his original form. Jekyll began holding his hand out. The sharp talons almost reflected a crimson red in the darkness.

He then stabbed himself with his own hand, howling and laughing with pain. His hand sloshed around in his insides. He pulled out a trail of bright pink, slimy guts. They seemed to be sticky, and the noises they made as Jekyll jostled them around were unpleasant. Red blood spew out from him in large gallons, splattering onto my face and staining the floor. I blinked. I took a whiff, smelling nothing but metal. It stunk up the room. The blood was warm on my face.

“Ouch,” I blinked. “That looked like it hurt.”

The demon roared with animosity. He grabbed me by the collar of my shirt and lifted me up to face him. He was _furious_.

“If you’re so fearless, then I’ll just kill you!” He smiled. “I’ll kill you, I’ll rip you limb from limb, and you’ll never see your family again. You’ll die here. Alone. _With me_.” The smoke wrapped itself around my arms and legs. “I’ll put you back together again like little old humpty dumpty, then I’ll TEAR YOU TO SHREDS! ALL BECAUSE I CAN! You’ll die! At 16! Poor, poor young Kaitlyn… gone too soon…” He shrugged. “Oh well!”

“Okay then,” I closed my eyes. “Go ahead. Kill me.”

He choked on his words.

The Demon stared at me, slack jaw, for a count of 12.

“What?”

“Kill me. Do what you said.” It was my turn to shrug. “I don’t mind.”

“Y-You… you _what?_” He cupped one of his hands up to his ear. “Did I hear that right?”

“Yes. Yes, you did. Kill me.”

“I did!” His jaw was still agape. “Do…” He started. “_Do you even fear death?_”

I shook my head. “No, not really. I know I’ll wake up seconds later, with no memory of it. Enduring the pain is the real anticipation of that process.”

It was true.

All of it. I wasn’t trying to lie, because I had a feeling he would know. I’m not scared of him. Everything has a reason to it. Why act scared of something?

I didn’t fear death, no. It’s just the process of something. I’ll just wake up as someone new. And honestly, I’ve done such little that it isn’t a problem.

That was what made the ghost’s little brain implode. He dropped me, almost scared _of me_. He took a step back.

“You… don’t feel… a thing… about… **_death?_**”

“Meh. Not really. I haven’t accomplished anything worthwhile in my life. And I won’t be around to see the impact it has on those around me. So it doesn’t matter.”

“You don’t… _fear death…_” He said shakily. “You don’t fear a thing, h-how is that right?”

“I just… don’t. Honestly, I don’t see the big fuss about it.”

I heard the king of terror himself _whimper_. He sat back down onto the ground.

“I’ve never… _ever,_ in my six thousand years of existence, _ever_ had a host… I-I don’t… understand…” He choked. “How… It doesn’t make any sense, none at all…”

I immediately felt… kind of bad for the murdering ghost. He curled up into a ball next to his amulet.

I sat on the ground beside him, putting a hand on his back. His ghosty foggy self was very chilling, and my hand was just floating in midair.

“Get away from me, you demonic little girl…” He hissed.

“Hey, it’s fine… maybe, you just… haven’t found my fear yet? Have you tried claustrophobia? Glossophobia? Trypanophobia?”

“Your big words are too confusing… Why would I try? You don’t fear death. _Death._ My trump card, my magnum opus…” He sighed. “That’s just SO UNFAIR! MY FIRST PLAYTHING IN CENTURIES, AND THEY’RE JUST… SO ANNOYINGLY CLEVER!”

“A-Actually… you… haven’t quite found my fear… and since you’re stuck, I’ll just tell you…” I thought for a moment. _Quick, make up a fear._ “Um… my fear is… Cynophobia! Yes, that’s it!”

He chuckled. “You, my useless host… are a terrible liar.”

“Am I seriously _that bad?_”

“You’re the worst I’ve seen in thousands of years, dear.”

“Ugh…” I sighed. _Riku had told me that days ago. Maybe it is true…_

Jekyll still seemed upset that he couldn’t possess me. Why did I feel sorry for such a… murderous person? I had no clue. Almost how I can’t understand people’s Bibliophobia. How. Why.

“Here… why don’t we compromise over this?” I stood up, offering my hand. “I’m sure I can let you willingly possess me.”

He yanked my hand, shaking it ecstatically. “Ah! But…” He frowned.

“_But?_”

“Since you’re really not all that scary to me, Jekyll… We share this body.”

“Uhm… Share?”

“Yes. I’ll give you control of my body when you need it. But for the most part… _I_ control my body. Meaning you _can’t_ possess me just because you can.”

“Okay…” He thought for a moment, holding my hand. “I can just ask you for control, then I’ll go around and slaughter and devour and kill all the people I want!”

“Not exactly… You eat people?”

“When I’m hungry. They taste like pork.” He licked his lips. “Why? Does that… Does that _disturb_ you?”

“I mean… no, not particularly. If it tastes like pork, then I’ll just convince myself whatever you’re eating is pork. I’m not picky with my food.” Jekyll seemed to be at a loss for words again.

“Kaitlyn, you’re eating _another person_. How does that not disturb you?”

I shrugged. “I don’t have any emotional ties with many people, so I feel indifferent if something happens to them. But I don’t like when people do it.”

“Doesn’t murder sound terrible?”

“Yes. Yes, it does. But it’s a process of life. I myself don’t have any intentions or interest to kill people, though.”

“Genocide?”

“It’s a tragedy to those lives lost. But I’m not terrified of it. I don’t _endorse_ it, not at all, but Jekyll, I have a feeling you’ll want to do that with my body.”

“Ding ding ding! You got it!”

“Too bad. I can take back control whenever I need to.”

He grinned. “I could break our stupid little promise, Kaitlyn. You _know_ I will.”

I nodded. “Mmhmm. I do. But whose the one with the real power here?”

“Me, obviously.” He snapped his fingers, and the room spun around quickly. I groaned, shaking my head.

“N-No… _I do_.”

“You? Haha, how? You haven’t even started to use your powers!” _Started?_

“You’re really not all that scary, Jekyll.” The room suddenly snapped back into place. I held my head as it was still spinning. “S-See what I mean? You’re powerless against someone with zero fear of you.”

I could certainly say I was unclear how I was going to plan this out. I mean, I didn’t even know how it’d work. I was just thrown into an apparent world of magic. This was all background knowledge.

One of his biggest targets were somewhat like me. A genius inventor. Now I wouldn’t say I’m a genius, but I’ve outsmarted an ancient ghost into confusion. That counts for something.

“You know-it-all little bitch…” He snarled. “Fine, then. I’ll take your deal.” He shook my hand, and I shook his. He yanked my arm suddenly, causing me to stumble forward. “Hold on though… I get a say as well. The day I crack your little code… Once the day comes where you learn to fear me… **_Then our little deal is over._** **I get your body and you won’t** **_ever get it back.”_**

“Fair enough.” I spoke without thinking.

Jekyll shook my hand earnestly. Something cold slithered up my hand. When I looked down, I saw a chain binding me and Jekyll’s hands together. _No take backs._

As soon as Jekyll let go of my hand, I stood up, moving to the amulet. It glimmered in the dark room, beckoning for me to take it. I did.

Then I put it around my neck.

A pain shot up my neck and made my head nearly explode. Fuck, that _hurts_. Good god…

The agony continued. My muscles cramped, my face burned. It all felt like I was being tormented.

I felt myself collapse. Jekyll laughed.

“Oh, don’t worry! This is all part of the process…”

It intensified, and I screamed. My muscles started to spasm. It’s… all a process… There we are.

The pain seemed to be taken out of my focus, and I could see somewhat clearly again.

It lasted for about twenty seconds before slowly fading away. I could feel a specific part of my face burn, like I had just been bruised there.

Jekyll floated towards me like I was a magnet. He then flew into my body, but this time, he didn’t come out.

_”That’s better…”_ A voice whispered in my head.

I felt a cold chill go through my head. _”Damnit…”_ Jekyll cursed. _”I thought I could’ve easy taken you over… oh well…”_

He came out of my body, his torso going into the amulet like a shadow genie. His arms were crossed, and he was staring at me intently.

“So… why me, specifically? I’d think that you’d want someone who’s at least a bit more…” I looked down at myself. “Strong, I guess?”

“Oh, it wasn’t me who chose you, Bynes! It was the person who made a deal with me for sweet, sweet vengeance… Trust me, if I had the choice, I would’ve chosen someone much better, You’re not really a 10 in my eyes. I’d kill you and forget about it.”

“Thanks, I guess…”

When he said that, multiple things were given answers that I had questions to. First off, Jekyll is doing some form of work for someone. Meaning that he isn’t going to go out and murder thousands for fun in my shoes.

Second off, I was kidnapped for the purpose of someone who wasn’t Jekyll. So the demon before me wasn’t the one in charge.

“So that wall back there has to be a one way window, correct?” I pointed to the mirror behind me with my thumb. He looked back at it for a moment.

“It’s a window for me…” He waved back at whoever was behind it.

“What’s behind it?”

“Oh, just some techy junk. Nothing important. There’s a few scientists watching us right now! I’m making them think that I’m terrorizing you. They look very worried.”

Illusionist abilities. Noted.

I just had to shift my worldview into that of a novel with magic. As soon as I understood that, it wouldn’t take me long to learn everything. I’m… kind of excited, yet unsure. I’m no expert in this mythos. I’m a jack of all trades, master of… maybe one thing.

Before me was a _Demigod_. From what I read, Demigods were the most powerful level, under that of Primordial Demigods and Gods. Then there was Elementalists, and the name explained itself.

Demigods were masters of a single trait. Peace seemed to end conflicts, Creation tended to spread determination and creativity.

And as that, Nightmares spread chaos and panic.

Riku had to be a fire elementalists. Being in the presence of 2 Demigods at once within a 1 week period had to be farfetched. I mean, there’s only 14 of them.

Although, the strange glint in Riku’s arm may’ve given me a clue as to who she is.

I seemed to have drifted off in thought.

“Scientists? Is this an experiment?”

“Somewhat. Ol’ Rhys wanted me to have a host, but he _also_ needed to kidnap you three from the vile new Everheart. So it could be either.”

“Hmm. Okay.” Everheart. _Everheart_. That name was at the tip of my tongue. Riku was a _new_ Everheart. But where was the name from? God, it pains me not to know.

“Speaking of, there are your friends right now! Tyson and… Jenna! Yes.”

“You are _so_ off, Nightmare.”

“Names are relative. One minute they’re Wymark, the next they’re Amber, it’s all too confusing for an old man like me…”

“You’re not old.”

“No, not at all.”

I walked up towards the mirror, squinting to try and see beyond it. “Where? What do they look like?”

“They’re walking away…” Jekyll followed close behind me. “Hmm… an 8 and a 6 out of 10.”

“I didn’t mean their _ratings_, Jekyll.”

“Well, you didn’t specify, sweetie.”

“Are they okay?”

“I guess so. I mean, they see you screaming out in terror right now, so they don’t look too happy.”

“Can’t you just show them what’s really happening? It’s not _that_ outlandish.”

“It’s… it’s pretty outlandish. I mean, I even had to start using it to make that _Everheart_ think you were scared out of your mind when we napped you. I’ve been doing it for… quite a while! Anyways, they’re long gone now. I’ll take down the hallucination. But just for you, you _special little snowflake._” He spoke that like he was trying to spite me. I guess he still had some pent up hatred over not getting full control.

The shadows around the room immediately got ten shades lighter. And then, Jekyll entered my body again. I could see beyond the one way.

The scientists seemed to be looking up to me in confusion. They looked to each other, said a few words, then one picked up an old telephone connected to the desk in front of them.

Funny. I could sense fear.

Not my fear, but _theirs._ Since Jekyll was now a part of me… I guess he was sharing his power with me too.

Did that make me a _Demigod?_

Wow, twenty minutes into my time in this new world, and I’m already a Demigod. Neat.

One of them was scared of Jekyll. What he was doing to me. The other seemed to be scared of how his boss would respond.

_”They’re calling Rhys over! They probably think something went wrong, poor humans…”_ He giggled. _”Poor humans and their empathy… I guess that’s something you and I can bond over, right?”_

“I wouldn’t call it ‘bonding’, Jekyll. Just a similarity.”

_”Yeah, sure.”_

Soon enough, the door slid open to my left. I took a step back, closing my eyes. The light flooded in. Way too bright. Ugh.

“Kaitlyn? Ms. Bynes?” A man with a raspy British accent called out to me. “Is that you?”

“Y-Yes… what is it?” I spoke back. The man seemed to pause for a moment.

He stepped into the room, and I got a good look at him.

Older. Seemed to be in his mid 30s. A single grey streak went through his greasy black hair. He wore a blue winter coat. It wasn’t really even that cold. He looked at me, clearly confused.

“Did… did it not work? Jekyll?” He spoke in a somewhat scared tone.

Jekyll popped out of my body halfway. He winked and shot a finger gun at Rhys.

“Hey.” He smirked.

“Wh-Wuh… What happened? Did you possess her?” He asked Jekyll. Jekyll looked up to me, and I shrugged.

“Yes…”

“But actually, No?” We both spoke. Rhys raised an eyebrow.

“What?”

“It’s complicated, but me and the kid struck a deal! I get to live in her body, and we share it. We’re like soul roommates.”

“Soul…” He stroked his chin. “_Fascinating._ Miss Bynes, I took a look at your personnel file and I know you’re clever, but I never even _imagined_ you’d be this clever!” He walked towards us, extending a hand out. “Mr. Allerton. But dear, you can call me Rhys.”

I shook his hand. But my hand passed through.

What?

I looked down at them. They were… _translucent._ See through. My body glowed an odd dark green.

_“Ah, did I forget to mention it?”_ Jekyll’s voice whispered in my head. _“When we’re in darkness, you turn incorporeal, just like me! Don’t worry about it, hun. You’ll get used to it.”_

“...Neat.” I looked at my feet, my arms. A ghost? Am I… a ghost, now? Is this who I am permanently?

This is getting a little too complicated.

“Ah, Right.” He shook his head. “We can shake on it out of the chamber. Don’t worry about it.” He smiled at me. “Oh, and… _welcome to the Rebellion._”

“Rebel… Rebellion?”

_”Did I forget to mention? You’re apart of a war now!”_

…

_”YAYYY!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They're entire relationship is just llamas with hats
> 
> these two are my favorite duo so far


	28. Sunny D and Hypothermia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thomas and Jessie try to get through their training.

I-I really r-regret not wearing… warmer clothes…

“F-F-Fuck..” I held my arms. I’m going to f-freeze… I felt my breathing quicken in its pace. “Shhoot…”

I-I’ve been… standing here for… a while… f-frozen… Riku, she…

N-No, you’re going to end up passing out… d-do something, _anything…_

I took one sh-shaky step forward, but my foot stopped in place like I couldn’t m-move.

I don’t… I can’t… give up…

Wh-What’s happening? Wh-Where are the d-dragons?

What am I d-d-doing?

DON’T DIE. WHAT ARE YOU DOING.

I-I shook my head viciously. No. No, d-don’t lose focus, don’t give up… you c-can’t give up…

I can’t… give up…

My legs wobbled, and I felt myself faceplant into the snow. M-My eyes were squeezed shut. My front side felt c-completely numb as I just l-ayed there. Little sn-nowflakes melted on my back. I could barely even feel myself shaking anymore. It was just m-y body… convulsing…

I s-sighed into the freezing floor. Everything felt numb.

D-Don’t… give up… asshole…

I raised one of my arms, barely p-pushing myself off the snow. It wobbled, and I fell again.

N...No…

I-I can’t just die here… not after learning a-all this… F-Fire… need… fire…

I have to make… fire…

I f-f-forced my arms to concentrate as hard as I c-could, sitting on my knees in the snow. I-I need fire…

Tommy… I wondered h-how he was doing…

“Haah… haah…”

My head was spinning, pounding. Everything felt shaky and weak… sweat dripped down my forehead, down my chest, everywhere. I felt like vomiting.

My body was just sprawled across the floor… taking in the sun’s heat… Who… who cares about Riku’s stupid little rule… I was forced into this by Jess anyways… I just want to go home and go to school again…

But… don’t get a heat stroke, you dope…

R-Right… Right… I can’t just die here, now. I’ve already drunk the two water bottles I was given… And I needed to get up unless I wanted to fry.

Don’t die… get up…

I weakly sat myself up from the pool of my own sweat, and immediately, my head started to spin. I sat back down. Urgh…

O-Okay… slow… take it slow…

I held my head and my stomach as I pulled myself up, very slowly. I squeezed my eyes shut to prevent my vision going blurry.

I felt myself sitting up. Good, good… My head pounded, and I felt like vomiting even more, I was going to _die_ if I didn’t move. I had to move.

“Oh… Okay…” I stumbled trying to get myself to stand. I need water… c’mon, up! You’re headache’s going to turn into a heat stroke if you don’t… get up…

I put both my hands on the ground, and I straightened my legs to get myself back up. I had a feeling the moment my hands were off the burning sand, I’d fall again.

I took one hand off the sand, and my legs wobbled. I quickly took away my other hand and stood up. I tripped and stumbled back.

_BALANCE!_

I held my arms out to counterbalance my wavering legs. My stomach felt flipped as everything spun around me.

But I was standing. Step one.

Now I need water. Or else whatever giant monster who lives out here will have a nice slow-roasted human to munch on.

Jess was probably just doing some fencing with Riku… well… I’ll show them...

I gripped my roaring stomach. There had to be some source of clean water around here somewhere…

I squinted at the area around me, enough that I wouldn’t get disoriented. Off in the distance, I could see something that had the silhouette of… of a cactus.

And if Jess’s nature survival books taught me anything, it was that cactuses had water.

I had to hurry. My vision was starting to tunnel. Urgh…

I took one simple step forward, my legs convulsing like I was being electrocuted or something.

One foot… ahead of the other… My eyes were squeezed shut… and I was walking…

Just one and a half more hours left… don’t die on me, Thomas Pit Falkner…

_Snap!_

“C-C-C-C’mon… C-C-Come on…”

_Snap!_

“_Please…_”

_SNAP!_

Wh-What am I missing? What am I doing wrong? Why won’t it start? Why won’t it go right? Why is th-this happening?

I-I can’t let myself just die.. I can’t… _I can’t…_

There was no fire. At all. W-What am I doing wrong? Wh-Why couldn’t you just t-tell me?

I blinked away tears that began to freeze up o-on my face.

My head began to clang a-as if someone was holding a hammer to-to my f-f-face.

My eyes began to close.

W-Why… why am I _giving up…_

Why d-do I keep giving up… Y-You just learned s-so much and now you’re throwing it away to f-freeze…

I screamed at the mountaintop. Tears ran down my cheeks before freezing in place.

My body was tensing up at the snow pouring down l-like an avalanche.

“I c-can’t lose to s-some snow…” I whispered. “_I won’t die to a c-cold…_”

Concentrating as hard as I could, c-completely avoiding my migraine… I _forced_ my wobbling legs to stand. My head shuddered in concentration. B-But my legs were standing. I was… st-standing.

My legs were buckled inwards, and I h-held my arms out.

I groaned in pain. My head… n-no. _NO._

“I-I’m not going to die to a c-cold…”

I’m not dying.

My muscles tensed up as I concentrated on anything but my shaking body. Warmth. I needed to f-focus on being warm.

I _forced_ my hand to snap, and sparks flew.

A growing sense of hope spread across my chest as I snapped again. My legs started to straighten, and I trembled less and less.

Another snap. More sparks.

Both hands, snapping. A fire spawned in my left palm, and I whimpered with glee. It quickly died out as my focus drifted off. I stared directly at my palm, and the flame grew bright.

Keeping one eye on my left hand, I snapped with my right, and another flame spread over my arm, up my body. My clothes stayed in tact, and my body tingled with a feeling of comfort, and terrified relief.

I was about to black out and freeze. Seeing my hands glow like two little rays of hope… they cackled.

Holding my arms out, I looked downwards, seeing the snow below me melt. I took one shaky step forward.

Right… this was only _step one_. Dragons. Death. Dear god…

I had to stick up for myself… Riku brought me here knowing I was going to fail, right? That was just part of her training.

I’m… I’m going to prove her wrong.

And that starts with taking one step forward.

A distant quaking roar made the ground around me shake. I gulped.

Gonna be damn hard to live up to her expectations like _this…_

Holding one of my flaming hands up towards the mountain’s snowy peak, I squinted upwards. Dragons, distant dragons, were spewing pure light from their mouths.

Yeah, um… no…

As I continued to force my body to cooperate and move forward, I could see ahead of me, a massive tunneling cave at the center of the mountain.

Upon closer inspection, there were _massive_ footprints of what I remembered to be a… _Theropod_.

One thing’s for sure, that’s _not_ a Theropod. That’s a dragon.

That’ll eat me alive.

Shaking off that final bit of cold air, I took one step inside the cave. The warm, wet-dog smelling air hit my face, and my fires were blown out like candles.

I heard a hissing noise echo towards me.

Alright… just… be quiet…

I carefully held the opened bit of cactus in my hands, sitting cross legged on the ground to avoid falling.

My headache has only worsened, but at least I’m not as nauseous…

It felt as if my entire body shivered as I took a sip of the lukewarm cactus water… _Phew…_

Soon enough, my chunk of cactus was empty, leaving a spiky bowl.

I was forced to take a wilderness survival bootcamp that my sister demanded we do when we were Freshman, and they covered a bit on desert survival… _Thankfully._

Now that I had water, and I could see without the world spinning… I glanced around. Yeah… _nothing but desert._

For miles.

Well… might as well stay here, right? I have water, and I’m not standing… Just _sweating and burning._

Riku told me that I was just supposed to stay here for 2 hours. There wasn’t a big goal, I’m trying to do anything…

And my headache just keeps worsening, so I just want to lay here.

I grabbed another chunk of cactus and took a long, good sip.

The desert sand dunes around me seemed to be shimmering, like that thing that happens when you stare directly at the road on a hot day… It seems blurry for some reason.

I guess I’m… waiting here now.

One hour and… 20 minutes left.

…

...

…..

_..._

“Ugh…” I sighed, closing my eyes again as my head was hit by another imaginary hammer.

The heat waved over my body again, and I could feel myself shrivel up.

My skin was probably _beet red…_

Well, even if I didn’t want to come… Skin cancer is _no_ laughing matter.

I looked down at my trembling hands… These produced light when we were with Rhys…

But how?

Urgh… I don’t want to figure this out now… But I _have to…_ Or else… Well, I don’t really want to think about it.

I squinted up at the sun, just barely… It’s my power source… but how?

Despite feeling terrified about the literal death lizard I was flying on, I heard a snippet of Riku’s little speech. Something about feeling the element as a part of yourself.

I held one arm out towards the sun, cupping it in my hand.

But… NOTHING… HAPPENED!

I groaned. I really don’t have time for this, just work like an emergency backup or something…

…

_Right…_ You didn’t work that one time with those Resistance Fighters, so why would you now?

Please… _Please work…_

Seeing that sun, just mocking me… I wasn’t going to lie, I was a bit upset. What was I missing? Some important life lesson?

What am I missing?

I shook my fists. God dangit, what is it? I-I just want this to work, I-I… Want to do this…

First it was _the kidnapping_, then the _war_, then the _dragon_... Now my own element?!

I-I don’t understand why this wouldn’t work, I-I shouldn’t be scared of this, I shouldn’t…

Be… scared…

The sun beating down on me could _kill me_. That’s why I was scared. I felt panic this entire trip.

It could kill me. _Could._

I was making such a big deal out of it, even though I’m shining right in my element. I was scared when Captain Riverra was about to shoot me, _terrified out of my mind_... Even though I’m in my element.

Jess was never scared, she was determined to keep us safe… Her body _exploded_ in flames meanwhile my powers never activated.

Was that it? Fear?

I put one hand on the sandy ground, pushing myself up. I squeezed my eyes shut as I regained balance.

“You’re my element… right?” I asked the sun. “Why should I be scared of something… that’s a _part of me…_”

I stretched out towards the sun. I could feel my hands start to tingle and go numb.

In my palm, the light reflected back at me, glowing a wondrous yellow.

I smiled. “Th-There… I’m not scared of myself. I can’t be scared of everything in a world like this.” The light started to creep down my arm. “Sure, there’s going to be terror of the unknown… right?” My entire arm glowed yellow.

“But I can’t give up and get angry at it. I’ll get it. I… get it.” I squeezed my fists, feeling the familiar warmth of my hands glowing with the power of the light.

JJ told me to focus your element on what’s important in the moment… My skin.

The mass amount of energy was sent out in waves towards my entire body. Like a mini glowing sunscreen. A low buzz rang in my ear. I had to stay focused on what I was doing to my body.

I could even feel my headache begin to ease away. My nauceousness died down to just a low grumble in my stomach.

I took a deep breath in, and out.

Looking ahead, there was something… glowing, in front of me. I tried to reach out to it, and for a brief second, I could see the golden silhouette of a bow before it flew away in a puff of pixie dust.

The bow… Was the sun forcing me to practice my aim _now?_ Well… it’s not like I’m doing anything, and I’m on a roll…

I saw the bow materialize before my very eyes once more. I took one long glance at it.

The bow was gorgeously crafted… Patterns swirled every which way on each limb... Glowing metal made the entire thing stand out. The bow string looked as if it was made from a delicate fiber. Much better than my standard bow.

This time, I had my thoughts focus on the bow and my body. How it’d feel in my hands. I reached out towards my goal.

The handles were crafted from some form of metal, cold and smooth. I took the bow with both hands.

It quickly disintegrated again. I frowned.

It’ll just take a couple of tries. I was going to make it. Bows aren’t that scary, after all. And I was going to get over my embarrassment.

* * *

I held my breath as I tiptoed around the tails of dragons sleeping in the den.

The cave, dimly lit, opened up to an enormous cavern of sleeping dragons. Some slept upside down on the ceiling like bats. One dragon slept curled around a stalagmite.

I was hesitant with every move. Don’t. Make. A. Sound.

There had to be _one dragon_ here…

I accidentally kicked a small pebble forwards while walking. F-FUCK.

The pebble skittered 1 centimeter from a dragon’s tail in front of me.

I mentally sighed with relief. I felt like crying.

After freezing outside, it was a sauna in the cave. The stench was indescribable, and the second I took it in, I nearly gagged.

That’s not important. Shut up and find a tiny dragon.

I decided to stay close to the walls, looking for any stragglers left behind in the dragon den that was going to murder me.

Don’t die. _Don’t die._

My mind was racing. What if one woke up?

No! _That’s not important._ The dragon is important.

Tiptoeing around, peeking around… I saw… a flash of light, come from one of the cave’s walls.

Another flash.

What?

I maneuvered myself around another sleeping dragon, with teeth the size of my index finger, moving towards the light.

Maybe… just maybe…

As I made my way towards that light, I could see that it came from a crawlspace through the cavern walls. I ducked down to the 2-foot tall wall, and crawled through.

From what I could see, there was a tiny, _tiny_ dragon flashing lights and whining. A… a _baby dragon_.

_Bingo._

I silently shimmied my way through the hole in the wall, trying not to disturb the colony behind me.

The baby dragon noticed me, and its cries only grew louder. His tail seemed to be lodged under a large rock. He looked like an iguana, with miniature wings shaped like that of a bat. His skin was a golden yellow.

I hushed it as I stood myself up. “No, sshhh…” I whispered. “I-It’s fine, It’s fine…” I held my hands up cautiously as I approached the little guy. His body flashed like a camera, and I had to squint just to be sure I didn’t have a seizure.

He whined again, this time, more high pitched and anxious. I continued to shush him.

As soon as I was hovered over him, I bend down, taking the rock by two hands, making sure he watched me as I did.

Slowly, with what little energy I had left, I raised the rock, letting the dragon’s tail free. He scampered weakly away, still somewhat skeptical.

I huffed, putting the rock back down. I smiled back at the tiny dragon, who was inching towards me. _Yes…. That’s it…._

I put a finger out towards the guy, and he nuzzled his face against it. “Th-There we are…” I spoke gently. “Now… let’s… _get out of here…_” I snaked my arms around the dragon, who tried to kick me, whining again. “N-No, _please…_ I’ll let you go once I show the Everheart…”

He squirmed in my grasp. I felt terrible doing this, but I had to or else… Riku, she…

I crawled back through the space the best I could with a yelling dragon. My mind raced, they probably heard me doing this, oh shit…

I stood back up, and was met with a vile-smelling waft of scorching hot air. It blew me back a bit.

Looking up, I could see a fire dragon. A gigantic, _bloodthirsty, tired_ fire dragon.

It didn’t look too happy.

Some of the other dragons around me stirred.

I whimpered, then laughed uncomfortably. _I’m so dead._

“H-Ha-ah! Hahaha, h-h-hey there, u-uh… _friend…_”

** _ROOOOOOOOAAR._ **

Th-Th-That was my cue.

My instincts kicked in as I ducked under the dragon’s snapping teeth, under its belly, holding onto the screaming demon infant lizard in my arms with a death grip.

It immediately turned around as I slid under its belly. The cave’s entrance was _right in front of me._

Run. Just run.

Don’t think.

My everything felt _numb_. I didn’t even see the dragons behind me waking up.

They were waking up, confused and dazed. I accidentally stepped on the tail of one of them while sprinting. The big dragon I ducked under continued to chase me, growling and snapping its gaping jaw. The ground quaked as it sprinted.

FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCK-

The cave’s entrance spilled out hundreds of dragons, who were now _also_ fleeing from the big one with me.

Some of them were just chasing me, but thousands of wings flapped and fire spewed everywhere.

The cold didn’t even faze me. In my panic I think a fire started around my body and I wasn’t as freezing.

But the edge of the mountain peak. It was coming up.

What are you thinking? _No._

NO.

I thrust my hand out in attempt to shoot a flame. A spiral of flames caught fire to several pine trees, and I felt my soul sink, getting ten times slower. My eyelids drooped.

But… one of the chunks of tree… fell…

The dragon gained on me.

I grabbed the piece of tree, and jumped.

I held onto the dragon with one hand, and put the tree trunk under my feet.

Mom’s ski trips, _don’t fail me now please…_

The impact shook my legs and they shot up in pain, I cried out, but forced myself to keep my balance as we plummeted down a double black diamond with a dragon positioned to eat us.

Sunny D the baby lizard flashed more light. I cursed and I cursed. The tree chunk continued to skitter across the snow.

Suddenly, a large gust of wind busted me forward, and the snow underneath my tree trunk and I melted.

I face-planted forward into a roll. My whole body cried out in pain, everything began to ache…

The dragon that was just behind us started to fly as the mountain peak turned into a straight cliff.

They were _right in front of me_.

GO BIG OR GO HOME, I GUESS!

I tensed up as suddenly, my body was propelled forward by a column of flames I forced my legs to make, shooting me forward. With my right hand, I hooked myself around one of the dragon’s back spine scales. My arm jerked forward, and I felt as if I was shot. I screamed out.

NO. NO, NO YOU DON’T! I screamed at myself to stay up.

The dragon began to screech, spinning in nauseous circles. I was _not_ letting go. We had to be at least 10,000 feet up or more!

I’M GONNA DIE ON A FLYING ROLLER COASTER.

“You’re my new best friend…” I told it in awe. That was… _too cool…_ Jess is gonna be _so jealous_ of me.

For a while, I tried shooting some extra shots at other spots of sand around me. I felt a bit more exhausted than normal, but this was something I _wasn’t_ going to pass up. I got a few of my powers to work! I summoned a light bow!

...Which is something I didn’t even know I had. You learn something new every day!

I’ve been experimenting for the past half hour… the bow could summon arrows made of pure energy… when I drew the silken string, a golden arrow materialized, ready to fire.

The arcs of light shot forward like fireworks, exploding on contact. If I moved my hand while the arrow was flying, I could control its movement. I tried firing it one way, only to yank my arm around the other direction. It’s… _so weird…_

It took me some time to finally get it to materialize… but hey, I’ll be able to do it without thinking if I just… practice…

I squinted in the air. A dragon.

My heart sunk, and the bow de-materialized. _Great._

B-Back on death lizard… Riku was here to pick me up.

But… the dragon, i-it… moved… spinning. A flash of light materialized like it was glowing.

My eyes went wide, and I took a step back.

Th-That’s not Riku’s Dragon… What _was_ that? It flew directly down towards the ground. Towards me.

I turned on my heel and sprinted. I sprinted as fast as I could.

The dragon flew right past me, back up into the air, roaring. I ducked and covered my head. “AAGH!” Someone screamed. Wh-What?

My eyes widened once more. “JESS?!” I yelled. Someone seemed to be holding onto it with an iron grip.

The only person I knew who had _that kind_ of death grip was Jess.

GOOD GOD, WHAT WAS SHE _THINKING?!_

Oh god, oh shoot the dragon’s gonna kill her then it’s gonna _kill me-_

Without thinking, the bow appeared before me. Without thinking, I grabbed it. And without thinking, I shot an arrow right at the dragon that Jess was dangling onto 1,000 feet about the ground.

The bow disappeared, and my heart sunk.

Wh-What did I just do!? I had shot an arrow as soon as it started spitting straight fire, I wasn’t thinking, t-the arrow shot out, and I was going to kill it. Was it illegal to dragon hunt?

I swear, I didn’t mean to hit it like that!

I pulled my arm back to try and stop the arrow from firing, but it homed in like it was _locked._

NO. N-NO!

I braced for impact as the arrow struck its target.

I opened one of my eyes. The arrow… it… was _circling the dragon?_ Its arc of light materialized like a chain.

And the arc of light wrapped around its waist. Like a rope.

I raised an eyebrow. What? Did… did I just _grapple_ a dragon with an arrow?

The arc was still up. It started to straighten. The arc was turning into a straight line.

I furrowed my eyebrows. God, this stuff is all so confusing… It’s light, so why is it straightening like that…

I looked at the light and where it started. A small string was wrapped around my right wrist. It tightened in my hand.

My heart skipped a beat. “Oh shi-”

_FWOOOOM~!_

I was sent flying, as I desperately clung to the rope with both hands. It was pulling me upwards. My body skipped across the sand like a rock on water, before being pulled into the air. The dragon soared upwards towards Jess, who seemed to be riding a rocket up into the sky.

My arms felt heavy as I clung to dear life. My voice was in shambles because of how loud I was screaming.

My body was flailed around left and right. I was being pulled towards the DEATH LIZARD.

I DON’T WANNA GET NEAR IT, I JUST WANT TO GET JESS DOWN! NOO!

My stomach dropped just as my heart soared.

Don’t look down, Thomas. Just don’t… don’t look down.

The wind rippled in my ears. I grimaced as the heat blasted in my face.

I wanted to try and find a way to drop myself, to get myself off the death ride.

But… _Jess…_

Jess’s rocket sputtered, and she fell right back down on the dragon. She seemed to be holding a tiny ball of light…

A feeling in my gut told me she needed help.

I raised one of my arms and started to pull myself up on the rope. Those rope units in gym class paid off after all!

I moved forward despite my head screaming _NO_ at me.

Eventually, I got so close that my face started to burn up. I was going to be red and Riku would tell me I’d failed because of some fire dragon.

Well… screw you, Riku! Sorry. That was mean. BUT I HAD NO TIME TO THINK ABOUT THAT, DANGLING 1,000 FEET ABOVE THE G-GROUND...

My body felt like it was burning, and the scales of the dragon didn’t make me feel any better. Unlike the rope, it felt like a hot spoon. Like if you microwave your food in the microwave and the bowl is hot to touch.

That’s what a dragon’s scales feel like. A hot, microwaved bowl.

Jess saw me and her eyes widened. She looked really bruised. The light in her hands was _another_ dragon. “THOMAS? WHAT THE HELL, HOW DID YOU-”

“I DON’T KNOW!” I screamed back. “WHY ARE YOU ON A DRAGON? WHERE’S RIKU?”

The dragon punted us both into the air, but Jess grabbed my arm and held me up as her rocket turned back on.

Except, it was no rocket. Her feet were the rockets. Those poor soles.

She looked absolutely exhausted. “She’s gone, and I have to bring her back a dragon!”

My eyes went wide. “WHAT?” And I thought _my_ training was harsh!

I tried to not pay attention to the fact that we were hundreds of feet in the air.

“Yeah. D-Don’t ask her personal questions!”

“Oh!”

Jess looked down at her rocket feet, which were stopping again. She shrugged. “Here we go again.”

We started going into freefall, and I screamed. _Don’t look down. Don’t look down._

I hit the scales of the death lizard with a THUD, then started sliding down to its tail. I desperately grabbed for one of its scales sticking out.

Jess fell back down with a wince, and I saw her arms loosen. The tiny dragon in her arms bounced right out of her embrace.

And it started falling.

I saw the look in Jess’s eyes. Fear.

“JESS…” I yelled at her. “DON’T YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT IT-”

She jumped, head first, off the dragon, making the big death bird dive too.

“JESSSS-” We started going into freefall. The dragon screeched and spewed fire. My grip was slipping.

The arc of light was still wrapped around its waist.

_Don’t you do it, Thomas._

_NO._

I grabbed the light rope and tied it around my waist, securing a seatbelt to the dragon. Safety is my number one priority.

As Jess fell, I steadied myself, swallowing down all my fears. I summoned my light bow again.

And I cocked an arrow at Jess.

As soon as I reached Sunny D the menace, I held onto him tight as I looked back up at the fierce roar of the mother dragon.

Welp. You pushed too far this time. All for a dragon. Jesus. All this to impress your cartoon ‘hero’ friend? What is my life?

I saw something bright flash at me. The dragon was going to roast me up and eat me for a mid-nap snack.

That, or I was going to splat down on the ground. Shit.

I felt something warm wrap around my abdomen…

And I stopped falling. Midair. I looked up.

My dopey younger brother was holding me up with some rope made out of light. Looks like he learned his powers too. He was struggling, but the smile on his face made him determined.

I smiled as he pulled me away from the dragon’s mouth, just as she snapped.

With all his might, he started to pull me upwards. Slowly.

Sunny D whimpered in my arms, snuggling close to me. I stroked his head and smiled at him. “You’re a handful…” I whispered. “But a good handful.”

Thomas laughed dazedly. I laughed with him.

What a _day_. I bet Riku’s gonna be so surprised when she finds out all we did today.

The mother, however… she wasn’t done.

She turned her neck around, looking at the extra passenger on her back. My eyes went wide, and I tried to call out to Thomas. But he didn’t hear me.

The dragon headbutted him off, making him spiral into freefall. His girly scream echoed downwards.

He eventually fell down past me, and the rope started to pull me as well.

“THIS ISN’T HOW I DIE, YOU OVERGROWN FURNACE!” I cursed at the dragon. “YOU AREN’T GOING TO KILL ME JUST YET!”

My feet came to life again, and the fire burned brighter than ever. My feet felt tingly and numb.

Thomas held onto his rope for dear life as I dropped him and I down onto the ground, slowly. We were low enough that we could fall and not hurt ourselves.

Thomas groaned tiredly into the sand, laying face first. I sighed.

“You are _really_ a handful…” I held the baby dragon in my arms, and it quivered in my grasp. I hugged it.

Then the mother hit the ground, staring at me.

_Fuck. Right, her._

She was the mother of the baby dragon. She had to be.

She snarled at me, stalking closer. The baby dragon, however… he _hissed_ at his own mom. That caught her off guard.

She looked almost _surprised._ The baby dragon snuggled closer to me, and I shrugged at her.

She huffed out a load of smoke, coming closer, but only stopping herself inches from my face. She sat down on the ground, and the sand around her puffed.

Thomas got up from his spot. “I-I-I think… I think she wants you to u-uh… get on.”

“_What?_ After all that?” I stared at her, and she closed her eyes, annoyed. “U-Um… a-alright…”

She crouched, and I got on her back. I forced Thomas to follow me, despite how reluctant he was.

Everything just… went by by a blur.

But _I had a dragon._ Thomas wasn’t red. And apparently, we had a temporary alliance with a mother dragon. She must’ve just silently agreed to bring us home or something. Was this dragon etiquette? If a human rescues your baby twice, then you shall fly them home? I don’t know. I was tired.

I bet Riku was home… doing _nothing…_

Thomas snored behind me after 10 minutes of straight screaming. I just wanted to sleep too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I absolutely rushed this chapter and it's my least favorite


	29. 2 Stargalaxans, 1 Human

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riku tries to write a letter to get her minds off of things.

_Dear Elliot…_

_People say writing letters helps ease tensions. So I’m going to write my letter to you._

_I had to fight my friend a few hours ago. I’m sitting in my room, recovering because my ‘step-dad’ told me to. Do you remember that? You always called Doctor Ghatzbur my step-dad. I always got annoyed with it, but thinking about it again… it’s funny._

_If you were here with me, I’d probably break down into tears and you’d support me, just like you always do._

_No one remembers you. Like you were a myth. But I do. I remember you._

_You have to be alive, right? I don’t know, maybe I’m just scared it really did happen. Most days, I’m still in shock._

_But you know how I have to be. Maybe, some way… there’s some way to open that rift you fell in._

_There needs to be. You need to be alive. For me._

_I can’t stand this, Ellie. I just can’t. I took you for granted. I need you._

_I need you._

I blinked, sitting back up in my seat.

God, you’re so _weak._ Stop being _weak._ I sniffled, wiping away my crybaby tears. I scoffed at myself.

Great, now I smudged the page.

“Forget this.” I snatched the page and hastedly tossed it in the desk. I scowled at myself. Jesus christ. Edgy teenagers are less dramatic than you.

First Ellie, then Rhys, now _J…_ She… She was still alive.

I huffed, running my hands through my hair. There was too much going on at once, it all confused the hell outta me.

_”What? The mighty Everheart, lost? How pathetic.”_ Someone spoke behind me. She scoffed.

My stomach dropped as I heard them speak. I immediately spun around in my chair.

There she was. Stargalaxan mark and all.

“Elliot?” I spoke in utter dismay. She smiled coyly.

_”Wow, she actually remembers. Look at yourself. Disheveled over a desk, fighting a war… all alone…”_ She snickered.

No. That… that’s not her. _It can’t be her._

She fed off my terror, laughing like a hyena. _”Aw, what? Is the baby gonna cry? Is she gonna whine and pout like a kid would? Don’t give me that. You put yourself in this mess.”_

My mind raced. How? _Why?_

This isn’t real, no… she’s not… that’s not _Elliot…_

Not the one I know.

Gulping, I shook my head. “N-No. _No._ You’re not… you’re not real. You’re not her. Elliot’s dead. Sh-She’s...” My voice cracked. I scooted back in my swivel chair, biting my lip. “She’s dead.”

I felt my body shaking. _You’re hallucinating, you dope! Wake up!_

I tried squeezing my eyes shut, then opening them again. She was still _there._ Still standing right _there._

Elliot only strided forward towards me. She yanked the scarf I was wearing, and I was jerked forward. Her hand was shaking.

_”I’m as real as it gets, babe.”_ She was smirking at me. No. That’s disgusting, I-I…

Her smile _terrified me._ She was here. I wasn’t hallucinating her.

The lack of distance between us made me uncomfortable, and I shut my eyes again, shoving her away from me with all my might.

But my hands passed right through her.

_What?_

“Wh-What…? N-N-No, I-I… _how did I miss, I..._” I looked down at my hand. How… that’s not…

Elliot chuckled amusedly. _”Who said you had any control here? You can’t do a thing against me, and you KNOW it.”_She took the scarf by both hands, yanked me forward, shoving me onto the ground face first.

My ribcage made me cry out in pain. I quickly turned myself around on the ground, and Elliot was there. Standing right over me.

“N-No, you’re… Elliot, I-I’m so _sorry-_”

She shook her fist, and the entire room felt like it was dematerializing. My eardrums burst as everything rang out in high-pitched alarms. I groaned, grabbing my head.

_”DON’T GIVE ME THAT BULLSHIT!”_ She screamed. I shut my eyes tightly. _”I don’t want to hear any of your excuses, all your LIES. You disgust me entirely!”_

I could hear her sniffle slightly. _”We could've been great, Riku. You know it, so why… why did…”_

There was a long pause between us. The ringing suddenly stopped.

I was at a loss for words. What was I supposed to say?

My body moved mechanically, starting to stand back up. “Ell… I’m…”

As soon as I sat up, Elliot kicked me back down again, right where it hurt. **_”NO!_** _Get the hell away from me! You did this, you did this to me! I_ **_HATE_** _you!”_ She shrieked. The ringing became _worse._

I held my chest tightly. This isn’t her. She wouldn’t hate me like this.

Would she?

She continued to scream, but the ringing just got _worse and worse_. Numb. I felt numb.

“Y-You’re all in my head, I’m just _seeing things_, throwing myself around, doing this to myself…” I desperately repeated, and repeated. I had to stay calm, it’s just my emotions getting ahead of themselves, I’m not…

_”Don’t you GET IT?”_ She growled. _”I’m here, you murdered me all for NOTHING. This war, all YOU. The Ancient Lands, YOUR FAULT. No wonder your friends all want to kill you. I would choke you out, beat you to DEATH if I had knew…”_Her eyes widened.

_”Why don’t I just do it_ **_now?”_**

Elliot suddenly rushed me, grabbing my scarf, and tying it tighter and _tighter_ to my throat. The fabric acted as a rope.

She was choking me. I wheezed.

She began to strangle, tears running down her cheeks. She grinned gleefully, her fists shaking around the scarf.

I could feel my vision tunneling. I looked into her crazed, _hateful_ eyes as she snarled.

_”I’ll kill you here! You’ll choke, and then what? THEN WHAT?!”_ She shook me as the scarf continued to cut off my breathing.

I used my one good arm to scratch desperately at the cloth. My face felt hot and I coughed. I coughed, and I tried to grab her, but I couldn’t. _I just couldn’t._

“Pl...ease… E-E… Ell…” I whispered, I begged.

_”You’re NOTHING but a whiner, a disgusting liar to EVERYONE! Rhys is right, you’re better off DEAD! You left me alone, you did this to me!”_

“N...n...n-o…”

** _”YES!”_ **

My arm started to shake, and I could feel that burning sensation turn into a flaming loose cannon. No, don’t you _DARE…_

“NO!”

_FWOOOOM~!_

I shut my eyes as the area around me exploded in an inferno of terrifyingly white hot flames. Elliot’s grip loosened, and I gasped desperately for air as my head hit the carpet under me.

The carpet was scorched black, singed completely. My body tingled with resounding anger that I didn’t want.

I scrambled backwards, now holding my throat. My breathing was heavy.

Elliot was gone.

She wasn’t there. But I could see a glowing purple wisp of dust circle my hands and body.

“E-Ell… No, n-not again, I-I…” I tried to grab the dust, tried to hold the tiniest speck, but it all dissipated.

Did… did I kill her again?

The flames that rocked my room lowered to an uncomfortable warm spot in my chest.

I just… sat there. Silent.

Just sitting there, the cloth that was just killing me seconds ago, still there on my neck.

I lightly held it in my hand, stroking it. My tears, my _crybaby_ tears just evaporated as I blinked them away. I was still hyperventilating.

Everything felt deathly quiet when it was _so loud_ just two seconds go. God, it was so damn loud.

My adrenaline and terror died down, and I was left alone.

I looked around the room. The tips of the carpet were charcoal black.

My chest sunk as everything just went back to normal. I felt like I was dreaming. Everything hurt.

I huffed.

That wasn’t her. No, that was a monster, a demon. I was hallucinating the whole thing.

I touched my neck where the scarf had just been choking me. Bruised.

I slowly, shakily stood myself back up, propping my hand up against my bed. I sat down, and just… blankly stared at the wall. What was I supposed to say?

I was taken out of my shock by someone sturdily knocking at my door. “Master Everheart? Are you in there?” General Pederson’s deep, burly voice came through.

“What is it, Jeff?”

“Do you mind if I come in?”

I sighed. “Sure, whatever.” He opened the door hesitantly, looking at my like I was about to pounce and bite him. His massive hand covered the doorknob entirely. The man was massive. And when I mean big, I mean _big._ Dude was an oversized quarterback.

But that didn’t really matter. “G-General Everheart, ma’am… We have our Neo-Riot press conference in… 2 hours. Are you fit enough to answer the press’s questions?”

“Yeah, man. I’ll live. Just a massive bruise right here.” I lightly patted my chest. I wanted to point out the problem on my throat, but I just kept quiet about it.

“Alright, General. Do you want the tailors to prepare your press suit?”

_My what?_ “No, it’s um.. It’s good. I’ll figure it out. I just need… some rest.”

The guy’s eyes widened like he had walked in on a couple doing it. “O-Oh, sorry ma’am! I’ll leave!”

“It’s-” He slammed the door shut. “Cool…” Okay then.

_God, what a pansy._

The black spot on my carpet floor disturbed me, so I just ended up leaving. I just wanted some peace and quiet. Some place where I was the only one who visited.

The people standing around, walking through the hallways around me looked at me as I walked by. They were mostly staring at the bandages wrapped around my waist. The fact that my hair was a mess. The fact that I was wearing sweatpants and slippers.

Don’t you have anything better to look at? Good god, go away…

I didn’t want it, but my mind just kept wandering to JJ… Amber really did see her as a friend, yet I…

Ugh, who cares! She’s a traitor, and a rebel. _Who cares._ Thinking about her just made me feel angry and sad all over. It didn’t really help me. I can’t show mercy to some rebels when they _took my friends,_ and just wanted me to suffer. Why was the focal point me?

I pressed the island button on the elevator, and looked down at my one good hand. I’d normally be scrolling through whatever was on the front page by now, trying to make myself forget… but good god, was it hard when all I could think about was that demon who just tried to kill me on my own bedroom floor.

Elliot, she’s… she’s alive, right? Is that what that meant? Or was it there to mock me?

“I swear, _everything’s_ to mock me, isn’t it?” I told myself, folding my arm.

I blinked, and for a split second, I could see _her._ There again, standing next to me. I blinked again, hard, and she was gone.

Not now.

The elevator dinged, and the wind crashed into the tiny box, making me slightly stumble. I stepped out, and looked around at the ancient, mossy gravestones. Isle of the Fallen. I needed some space, and this place was perfect for it.

That’s when I noticed the silhouette of a very skinny man standing, arms crossed, before me. I could never mistake his disgusting, vomit green skin. Two Stargalaxans in one day…

“_Soohkah._”

“Good afternoon, Everheart.” His gross, disgruntled mouth twisted into a smile. “Very theatrical performance you put on today.”

“What do you want?”

“Oh, so touchy! Please, please. Sit with me a minute, will you?” He turned on his heels, floating towards the edge of the island behind the center tree. I rolled my eyes and played along with it, sitting next to him. He reeked of skunk spray, and I had to force myself not to gag.

He reached into his pocket, pulling out a pack of _Marlboro_ cigarettes. His favorite. He took a couple out and held out one to me.

“How do I know you didn’t poison mine?” I glared at him. He seemed incredibly amused by this whole situation.

“I have much higher standards than just killing you now, you know. Your war is much too interesting to end like this. I just wanted to talk here, because I _knew_ a battle like that would make you want to think for a long while.” He continued to hold out the cigarette. I rolled my eyes again, snatching it from him.

He held out his cigarette so I could light it. “Hold it,” I said. “Two questions. One, where’d the hell did you get a pack of Marlboros? Two, how are you even here? You know they’d kill you if they saw you.”

He snickered. I wanted to punch his disgusting, pompous little face. “They sell them for surprisingly cheap if you look like the monster under their bed… And I’ve been here many times. Those security guards are real dumbasses. It’s hilarious.”

“You have _no idea…_” I snapped, and lit his cigarette. It’s surprisingly hard to light your own when you have one hand. I held it between my middle and index finger, lighting it with my pinky.

Taking a deep breath inwards, the new smoke entered my lungs. I exhaled. Man, don’t you feel all special and edgy, huh? Wow, what a badass. Good god.

My chest sank. I don’t know why I took his offer. It was just making me feel even worse. Ruby smoked all the time around her.

It reminded me _hard_ of that one day, when we were sophomores. Elliot had us skip school, and somehow, _somehow_, she had gotten a hold of these joints. And we just sat in her car, high as all hell. I kept telling her how bad it was for her, but she didn’t care. And we just smoked and talked.

Honest to god, when I was Ruby she’d constantly tell me not to use those cigs, and I’d tell her that I’m not bustin’ my gut or killing myself smoking them. But then she just came up to me and offered me some, nonchalant. Because we could. _We’re Demigods._ And we were curious Demigods.

Surprisingly, that was one of my favorite times spent with her. It just made me depressed to think about.

Soohkah raised an eyebrow at me. “You look like you’ve got a lot on your mind, _friend._” He hissed at the word friend.

“No thanks to you, asswipe. What did you want to talk about anyways?”

He looked off into the massive cliff’s edge, exhaling smoke. “You’re playing right into his hands. It’s funny. All you humans are just dogs chasing your imaginary tails. I’d give you my two cents on the situation, but well… you refused my advice the last time we talked.”

“Yeah, ‘cause your advice is absolutely pointless and full of bullshit.” I shook my head. “I’m not here to listen to you blabbering about how stupid I am.”

“Riku is feisty, isn’t she? She reminds me of Rue, you know… the girl who _ruined my life._” He growled.

I summoned a hunting knife and held the tip to his chest. He raised his hands defensively. “I stand by my point.” He spoke clearly. “Could you get yours away from me?”

“Don’t bring up that goddamn name.”

“Why not?”

“Just _don’t._” He looked like he was about to say something. He raised his slick little eyebrow cockily. Him and I were evenly matched, but good god, I was _not_ about to let the Stargalaxan get to me.

I poked him with the knife, and he finally dropped the conversation. “Feisty…” He muttered. “Fantastic little show you put on for the cameras today. You really did put up that act of wanting to ‘crush’ those little rebels you keep complaining about, being a fearless soldier and all. But dear, if you want to be a good actor, then hesitation isn’t the key… Could it be… are you harboring some form of regret?”

“Of course not.” I looked down at my lap. No, I’m not regretting any of it. She should be the one to regret her choices.

“Your tone of voice really doesn’t help you. I mean, if you really want to fully grasp your war persona, act like it. Be that cold, hard soldier you think you are. Stop being what you call weak and _crush_ the enemy.” He shook his fist.

“I’m _not_ weak! How many times do I have to tell you, you sorry sack of shit? I’m trying not to hurt people-”

“Why?”

“_BECAUSE I-_” I growled, pinching the bridge of my nose, inhaling smoke. “I’m their hope, Soohkah. If they don’t have me, this is all going to fall apart. If I start attacking them, what’ll _my_ image look like?”

“Sticky situation you’ve found yourself in, huh? That’s too bad. Amusing, if I’m being honest.” He smiled. “But, dear Everheart. You know me, because we’ve been at each other's throats for years. I can read someone’s emotions like a book, even if they try to hide it. If you don’t want this coming crashing down into flames, then stop trying to be fake.”

The way he talked _really_ ticked me off. What _could_ I do? “I have no choice and _you know it._ Leave me alone or else I’ll skin you and wear your dumb Stargalaxan hide as a cloak.”

He hoisted himself up, flicking the cig off the side of the cliff. “Wow, what a meaningful comeback! I’ve really been told off.” He snickered. “You really _are_ stubborn. Either way, I should be off. There’s an apparent press conference happening later that I’m _dying_ to see you bullshit your way through.”

That was fucking pointless. He just came, made me feel even worse, and then left.

He stopped halfway through walking away, and he turned his head back to me. “But, you should know that you aren’t exactly the only person she’s playing in this mind game. She likes using people. You just have to figure out who. And honestly, with even with a human brain or lack thereof, you should be able to find the solution easily.”

“Would you just fuck off?”

He laughed again, turning back to me. “Yes ma’am. Good luck on your little battle. Don’t lose your head over the small things.”

“_LEAVE._”

“Well, that’s my cue, then. Toodaloo~!” He waved, leaning back until he fell off the cliff. He probably was gonna float himself down. Urgh…

I just ended up spitting out that gross cigarette, listening to the wind howling. I brought my legs up to my chest, hugging them with my one good hand. Everything just made my chest heavy, and I hated it. Every aspect of my life.

My mind, no matter how hand I concentrated, just wanted to wander right back to Creation and Destruction. The look in her eyes, the pure exhaustion and pleading in her face as we fought this afternoon… Her and I both knew it, but she hated me.

Gah, WHO THE HELL CARES. If she wanted to abandon my old friends to join someone like RHYS, then I shouldn’t care either. I shouldn’t care.

This isn’t some world where I can stop what I’m doing and just say hi to her again, talk to her again. This is the consequences of my actions.

Everything felt heavy, but a heat just kept building up my spine and my throat. This massive sense of just pure distaste, negative everything.

I felt like getting up and chatting with my ancestors, but they’d probably just belittle me for wearing her perfect scarf again. They’d make me burn it even though I didn’t want to, they made me do it.

I don’t want to let go. It just feels wrong to let go of what I did. Elliot is right. Her death _was_ my fault.

I just want this all to be over. I want to go home and eat a tub of ice cream at 3 AM, curled up under my blankets crying my heart out. That’s childish, but it’s true. I just want some time to really let this sink in.

Not fighting this dumb, _dumb_ war. It’s a joke. All a joke, and I’m the punchline.

I bit my lip, shutting my eyes closed tight. Stupid. Who cares. Why even care about that. You have a job to do as leader.

I scowled at myself again. Good god, _War,_ what is wrong with me? I forced myself not to cry, and as soon as any waterworks started, I just evaporated them away.

It’s all too complicated. I’m sinking, and I want to get back up but I just can’t. Does it make sense? No. None of it does. My head is all jostled up from that fight, I’ll tell you.

I probably would’ve sat there for a while, just watching the clouds below me float by, getting angry at the littlest of things. But, I heard the elevator behind me ding.

“General Everheart, madam… the Fire and Energy Elementalists have returned.” Just by his voice, I could tell he was a pansy.

Oh, right, them. They had their training thing this morning I forgot all about. Whoops.

Just thinking that, I felt bad. They’re the closest people I can call friends.

“Bring them to me, won’t you?” I was too tired to be polite. And the guards never cared. Because I’m the Demigod.

“A-Ah, ma’am, they’re… they’re already here.” He spoke. I turned around, seeing Tom and Jess all bruised up. Tommy was still shirtless, and Jess was holding an infant energy dragon. They looked at me, concerned. I only motioned for them to come and join me by the cliff.

The other guy, scratchy scrawny, he also came forward. I shook my head. “_Not you._ Just them.”

“R-R-Right! Sorry, General… I’ll be off now. B-Bye.” He quickly scampered off to the elevator.

I turned back around, patting the ground beside me. Jess sat down right beside me, while Thomas sat a little ways away from the cliffside.

“Hey, Ri… we got did our training and what you asked of us.” Jess spoke, showing me her little dragon. Passable. I glanced at Thomas, who didn’t seem to have a single red mark on him. “It was actually pretty freakin’ cool, Thomas grappled a dragon with his light arrow thing, and I was like a suitless Iron Man, flying around with rocket heels.” She pointed down to her heels.

I didn’t feel like fancying them. “That’s good. Good enough to pass your first test.” The look on Thomas’s face was relieved, and Jess seemed overjoyed. “We’ll continue training later, when I have time.”

“We did it… Thank goodness…” Thomas sighed. “I just want to sleep for 10 hours now.” _You and me both._ “But uh, Riku? Mind telling me what happened after we left? The Council yelled at us again for riding a dangerous dragon into the castle, and everyone seems on edge.”

“I’ll be sure to talk to them about that, Tommy…” I sighed. “Didn’t you two hear about the news in Neo Riot City?”

“Neo Riot?” Jess raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t that the capital?” I nodded. “No, we didn’t exactly have internet while training. What happened?”

“Rhys took over the TV stations and tried to make a hotshot speech, but I had to step in. The main focus right now is the big headline: _Creation vs War!_” I felt weird hearing myself say it in such a monotone yet fakely excited tone. “I’ve got a press conference for it, in about… say, an hour or so.”

The two were silent before Jess chimed in. “You fought _Creation?_ Like, the Demigod?”

“Yeah. Turns out Rhys has more up his sleeve then he let on.”

“O-Oh, we saw her as one of the Generals for Rhys! She helped us get adjusted.” Thomas told me.

“_Interesting…_” I stood up, stretching. I felt miserable. “Listen, I’ve just got… _a lot on my mind right now._ And I gotta get ready anyways. You two did… did good today. Go and rest up or something.”

Jess fake saluted me, and Thomas followed. “Yes ma’am!” I only cracked a slight smile. So innocent, naive and clueless. Like mortals. They should’ve stayed mortals.

I just ended up leaving them there, on the island. I was getting tired, and I had to dress up anyways. The walk back to my suite wasn’t anything new. Just the same stares as before.

I opened the door, and locked it behind me.

_”Did you have fun?”_

When I saw the ghost sitting at my desk, that’s when I knew. She wasn’t going away.

And I wasn’t going to let her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAANNNNGST

**Author's Note:**

> Oh dear god here we go folks
> 
> Yeah, 14 Demigods, setting's gonna change real quick, fun stuff


End file.
